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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.

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.