In the early hours of Wednesday morning, thousands of mink were released from their cages at a Canadian fur farm. The liberation was likely conducted by activists in response to a widely publicized story about the grisly conditions on the farm. The Montreal SPCA, which conducted the investigation that led to the story, said that the dehydrated, thin and sick animals, some of whom had open wounds, were “living in hell.”

Photo: Montreal SPCA

Those who criticize activists for conducting liberations say that the newly-freed animals who manage to escape into nearby areas cannot survive after living in captivity. Even if that is true, a few hours or days of freedom is far better than a lifetime of intensive confinement and abuse followed by death by anal electrocution, gassing or neck-breaking. Learn more about fur farming and join the fight to end it.

His name is Sam Simon, and, in the last months of his life, this Hollywood mogul has been donating a fortune to liberate animals. Today, he bought a fur farm in Southern California and rescued 425 chinchillas from a life of intensive confinement in wire cages: “This is your last day of abuse” and “first day of freedom,” he said to the animals while walking through the fur farm. PETA helped to broker the deal with the fur farm, though the owner was unaware of that. 

Photo: REUTERS/Mike Blake

In June, Mr. Simon freed Sunder, an abused elephant in India, and, before that, he rescued bears being held captive in a Georgia roadside attraction. Simon, who is dying from colorectal cancer, donated $100,000 to the San Diego Humane Society to take care of the newly-released chinchillas until they are adopted. When this animal hero does die, we know exactly where he’s going.

According to Montreal’s SPCA, which discovered horrific conditions during a fur farm inspection, the Quebec government is “not doing enough to protect dozens of foxes and hundreds of mink kept in inhumane conditions.” A wildlife veterinarian who accompanied the SPCA said, “Dehydration was evident in all 91 foxes. Emaciation or starvation was present in many of the animals. There were a variety of injuries from broken toes, to a broken leg, to a missing eye, lesions on the tails.” The Forest Ministry did seize 16 arctic foxes due to lack of paperwork and did euthanize four foxes and one mink because they were too sick to survive. However, they left the remaining animals in their cages “to give the owner a chance to correct the situation.”

Being held captive for life in a small wire cage is torture in and of itself. But to be deprived of food, water and medical care on top of that? If the Forest Ministry found dogs and cats in these conditions, the perpetrators would be undoubtedly be charged with animal cruelty. The laws must be strengthened to protect all animals, not just the companion animals who bring us pleasure. Fur is among the most egregious forms of animal cruelty. And for what? A coat? We must put ourselves in the skin of these animals and imagine stress, frustration, pain and suffering they endure every day of their lives leading up to that fateful moment when they are anally electrocuted, gassed or skinned alive. And we must be their voice.

According to the Chicago Tribune, “the lawyer for one of two California animal activists accused of sabotaging an Illinois mink farm and releasing about 2,000 animals into the wild last year said today he plans to challenge the constitutionality of the federal “animal enterprise terrorism” charges the men are facing.” The lawyer, Michael Deutsch, said that AETA “is overbroad and potentially criminalizes free speech rights protected by the First Amendment” and that it “unfairly brands activism as terrorism.”   The activists, Tyler Lang and Kevin Johnson (aka Kevin Olliff) spray-painted “LIBERATION IS LOVE” in big red letters on the side of a barn after liberating the mink. 

Kevin Johnson (Illinois Dept. of Corrections / July 29, 2014)

Let me get this straight: The “terrorists” are the individuals who free captive animals from intensive confinement and emotional and physical torture, and the “victims” are the people who are terrorizing the animals?  I would ask how that is even possible, but then I remind myself that mainstream society found ways to justify the slaughter of native Americans, the enslavement of people who look different and the deprivation of basic human rights to large fractions of society. The AETA must go.

Land’s End is the latest clothing manufacturer to ban the use of Angora fur after viewing undercover footage of rabbits screaming while having their hair torn out by workers. According to the Huffington Post, H&M, The Gap, Tommy Hilifiger and Calvin Klein have “suspended Angora production until they can verify that the farms they contract with are not engaged in abusive treatment of animals.”

The retailers looking for Angora from animals who are not abused are never going to find it because fur production is inherently abusive — from the cramped cages where the animals go insane to the execution by gassing, anal electrocution and live-animal skinning. PETA provides more information on Angora and explains how you can help.