by Peter Young and the Press Office
Astoria, Oregon: In an anonymous communique received by the North American Animal Liberation Press Office, animal liberation activists have taken credit for the destruction of Ylipelto Mink Farm in Astoria, Oregon. The farm has been the target of 2 previous raids by animal liberationists; the first occurred in October 2008, when 1,500 mink were released in a raid claimed by the “Vegan Straight Edge”. The second raid occurred October 4th, 2009, when 300 mink were released; at 1:23 AM that morning, a farmer reported to police that someone was “releasing her mink”, indicating the liberators were spotted in the act, but escaped un-arrerested. No group took credit for that raid.
The current communique reads, in full:
We delivered eight incendiary devices to the lovely folks at Ylipelto’s Fur Farm, at 92659 Simonsen Loop Road in Astoria on the morning of July 27th. It is nice to see that the enslavement, torture, and death of thousands of innocent creatures affords certain people luxuries like boats, nice cars, and various (expensive, no doubt) “farm machinery, and we were more than happy to alleviate them of these. A careful attack sent structures up in flame both in the front and rear of the property, simultaneously. We hope that this can leave an impression on our friends, Veikko & Eeva, that making such a living off of the subjugation of sentient creatures (for something as selfish and disgusting as the fashion industry, no less) will not be tolerated. We hope that others like them will also consider where their priorities lie (the nearby Wilkinson & Stunkard farms, to name a couple), and decide whether or not they’d like to be next. –Don’t think that you’ve be given a choice; your actions serve as your voice.
Owner Henry Pelto stated he awoke at 3 am to the sound of explosions, and found several pieces of equipment on fire. The owner revealed new information after the fire: after being targeted twice by activists, the Ylipelto farm shut down in December 2009.
This marks the second Oregon fur farm to apparently shut down after an animal liberationist raid. The S&N Fur Farm in Scio, Oregon was found to be empty in a summer 2009 investigation as part of the Fur Farm Intelligence Project (although there is conflicting evidence indicating the farm may still be open, or reopening in the near future). That farm was raided by the A.L.F. in September, 2008. Astoria is the largest mink farming town in Oregon, home to five known mink farms (and another possible farm that is unconfirmed ).
Imprisoned in cages for life, fur-bearing animals are forced to endure intensive confinement, compared to the miles of territory these animals would enjoy in the wild – their natural state. The natural instincts of these captive animals are completely frustrated; self-mutilation, sickness, infection, poor sanitation and the sheer stress of confinement lead animals to premature death. When they survive, animals of sufficient size are killed by anal electrocution or gassing, then skinned. Whereas reports from the fur industry have surfaced that liberations were harmful to the animals, the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) and other organizations have a long history of successfully releasing animals into the wild. In addition to liberating the wild animals destined for a certain, painful and agonizing death, another goal of liberationists is to cause economic damage to fur farms; dozens of fur farming operations have seen economic ruin since “Operation Bite Back” began by the ALF in the 1990s.