Study shows released mink survive in the wild.

Laying to waste fur industry claims that liberated mink do not survive in the wild, a recent study published in  April 2009 studies the survival rate of captive-bred mink when released. The study, done in partnership with Oxford University, tracked the survival of released mink over eight years. The study found that none of the released mink died directly due to lack of survival skills.

For years, anecdotal evidence and quotes from wildlife biologists supported the possibility of high survival rates for released mink. For example, view this article on a (now removed) blog post from a Utah woman finding a mink in her yard near the McMullin Fur Farm, 18 months after it was raided by the Animal Liberation Front.

The Mink Release Study

The study (viewed here), is titled “The survival of captive-born animals in restoration programmes – Case study of the endangered European mink Mustela lutreola“.

The study set out to answer the following questions:

1. What is the survival rate of released mink and how does it
change with time since release?
2. Do age, sex of an individual, and the conditions in which it is
kept prior to release, affect its subsequent survival in the wild?
3. What are causes of mortality?

A few of the factors which could mitigate the relevance of this study are:

*The study was done with endangered European mink, not the commonly farmed North American mink.
*The study did not specify how many generations the mink had been bred in captivity (though, as reprinted below, it concluded this was not relevant to survival).

Mink Release Study Highlights

*”There was no evidence that the number of generations for which the lineage of the released individuals had been bred in captivity had any effect on survival.”

*Released mink survived for “up to 39 months”

*”The main cause of death was other carnivores and raptors, although this broad categorization may conceal a diversity of fatal scenarios.”

*(Only)”…three deaths were caused by humans: one was shot, the second was hit by a car and the third was beaten to death when venturing into a farmyard.”

*A quarter of the released European mink died within the first ten days. Survival decreased by half in 38 days and then stabilized….Overall, we conclude that mink adapt to the wild c. 1–1.5 months after release.”

*No mink were found to have died (directly) due to lack of survival skills.

*”The results show that genetically managed, long-term breeding programs within the zoo community can be a source of individuals for re-introductions”.

The study includes graphs charting survival rates and more.

Fur Industry Lies

In the wake of mink liberations by the A.L.F., the fur industry’s stock-response, without exception, is that released mink will not survive in the wild. They are likely to have no comment on this recent study, which proves these soundbites to be false.

Conclusion

Now we have a study published in partnership with a major university, in a credible academic journal, proving what the Animal Liberation Front and critical thinkers have believed for years: farm-raised mink retain their wild instincts, and when released, can reassimilate successfully into their native habitat.

- Peter Young

Contact: info@voiceofthevoiceless.org or email VOV here.
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La Jolla, CA: In an anonymous communique received by the Animal Liberation Press Office yesterday, the Animal Liberation Front claims they placed an incendiary device in the vehicle of vivisector Howard S. Fox of Scripps Research Institute. According to the Press Office, Fox’s work includes addicting non-human primates to methamphetamines, infecting them with the Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV) allegedly to imitate AIDS, and then killing them in his laboratory.

The communique from the A.L.F. reads:

“On the night of March 4th, 2010. We planted an incendiary device in the exhaust pipe of California Vivisectionist Howard Fox. Hopefully this action will help Mr. Fox decide to pursue a different career choice. The Animal Liberation Front”

As of yet, it appears the media has not picked up this story.

- Peter Young

Contact: info@voiceofthevoiceless.org or email VOV here.
Become vegan: Learn why a vegan diet is essential for the animals and this planet. Watch Meet Your Meat.
Twitter: Follow animal liberation movement updates on Twitter.
Email signup: Animal liberation news weekly updates. Subscribe to the Voice of the Voiceless email list.
Animal abuser addresses: Aid any animal rights campaign by knowing what animal abusers are operating in your neighborhood: exclusive PDF documents listing slaughterhouses, research labs, lab animal breeders, and fur farms available on the activist tools page.
Animal Liberation Front literature: A.L.F. Diary of Actions, exclusive U.S. printing of Keith Mann's From Dusk 'Til Dawn, A.L.F. Communique Collection, and more at the Voice of the Voiceless bookstore.
Vegan hip hop benefit: 12 artist vegan hip hop comp CD to raise money for animal liberation prisoners.

Five years after the Animal Liberation Front raids the University of Iowa, the government launches a prosecution that is a fraud on its face

In late-2004, morning workers arrived at the Spence Laboratories to find $450,000 in damage to equipment and 401 animals missing. Graffiti left at the scene read “Science Not Sadism” and “Free The Animals”. In a long communique, the Animal Liberation Front (A.L.F.) took credit.

Just before the 5-year statute of limitations was to expire (most federal crimes have an SoL of 5 years), two Minneapolis activists were subpoenaed to testify to a grand jury in Davenport, IA. It soon became clear the grand jury was investigating the University of Iowa A.L.F. raid. Both were jailed after refusing to testify. Soon after, one of the two - Scott DeMuth - was indicted for Animal Enterprise Terrorism.

Those I have spoken to close to the case awe at the bizarre, unprofessional, and legally unsound nature of the entire prosecution. As one person told me: “When all the facts come out, this DA is going to be very embarrassed”.

All indicators are that the government rushed through an indictment they knew would not stand, in order to freeze the clock on the statute of limitations and buy time to build a more solid case. The case has all the markings of a desperate and unconstitutional prosecution motivated by an attempt to save face after 5 years of failing to apprehend the Animal Liberation Front.

Eight Reasons the Iowa A.L.F. Investigation is a Fraud

Feldman was 15 at the time of the raid

Carrie Feldman, incarcerated for refusing testimony to the grand jury, was a 15 year old sophmore in high school at the time of the raid. Yet a judge has stated the government admitted…

…it sought Ms. Feldman’s testimony because it believes she had knowledge of “a break-in of the University of Iowa Spence Laboratories in November, 2004.

And in a dissenting opinion on Carrie Feldman’s (denied) motion for release, a judge said:

…I am concerned by the necessary implication raised in this matter that the government is seeking Ms. Feldman’s testimony for the sole purpose of gathering additional information to support its indictment against Mr. DeMuth.

DeMuth was 17 at the time of the raid

Unlike Feldman, Scott DeMuth is accused of direct participation in the A.L.F. action (prosecutors have stated they believe he is featured in a video made of the raid). 17 at the time, DeMuth is implicated in an action that has the appearance of one of the most complex and expertly executed in the Animal Liberation Front’s history. According the media reports and the A.L.F. communique, activists picked locks, bypassed four layers of security, used stolen key cards to access labs, and removed 401animals from the building undetected. At 17, DeMuth is accused of an action requiring this level of skill.

DeMuth was not told he was a target of the grand jury

Furthering evidence DeMuth’s indictment was reprisal for his refusal to testify, he was not told he was a target of the grand jury when subpoenaed, as required by law. This bolsters the case that DeMuth’s indictment was motivated by spite, and was an afterthought to his refusal to testify.

The statute of limitations had expired

The indictment was issued four days after the five-year statute of limitations had expired. An appellate court judge stated:

The district court abused its discretion when it found Ms. Feldman in contempt of court because it failed to consider a significant relevant factor, i.e., whether the statute of limitations had run on the crime for which the government seeks Ms. Feldman’s testimony….the government itself cites no authority for the proposition it can abuse the grand jury process to compel a witness to testify regarding a crime for which the statute of limitations has expired.

Indictment is unconstitutionally incomplete

Demuth’s original indictment was so “shockingly vague” (defense lawyers), it failed to provide the following basic information: the elements of the alleged offense, supporting facts and circumstances, the law alleged to have  been violated, identifying an element of interstate activity, providing a date range of the alleged conspiracy, where the conspiracy is alleged to have taken place, and basic information as to what he is accused of. The one-page indictment was practically void of any information with which DeMuth could prepare a defense, including any information on what crime he is alleged to have committed.

Law DeMuth charged under did not exist in 2004

Scott DeMuth is charged under the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, a law that did not exist until 2006 - two years after the University of Iowa raid.

A quote from the motion to dismiss the indictment:

….respectfully moves that his indictment be dismissed since the charges brought against him are under a statute which was not the law at the time of the alleged offense.

Only evidence is DeMuth’s “resemblance” to person in grainy film

The only evidence the prosecutor has stated to support DeMuth’s involvement is his “resemblance” to an individual in a video of the raid. The video of the rescue, taken by the A.L.F., is a grainy black and white film showing activists loading animals onto carts and taking them from the lab. Video would be damning evidence…. were all activists on the video not wearing masks.

DeMuth is not a vegetarian

In perhaps the most absurd example, the government made the folly of charging someone for an A.L.F. action who is not even a vegetarian.  In fact, the man accused of conspiring to rescue rats from a lab is a bow-hunter.

Conclusion: The jailing of Carrie Feldman and indictment of Scott DeMuth appears to be motivated by the following factors: desperation, spite, and / or a need to freeze the statute of limitation and buy time to build a substantive case.

The combined factors make the University of Iowa A.L.F. case among the most egregious examples of prosecutorial overzealousness in the animal liberation movement’s history.

- Peter Young

Contact: info@voiceofthevoiceless.org or email VOV here.
Become vegan: Learn why a vegan diet is essential for the animals and this planet. Watch Meet Your Meat.
Twitter: Follow animal liberation movement updates on Twitter.
Email signup: Animal liberation news weekly updates. Subscribe to the Voice of the Voiceless email list.
Animal abuser addresses: Aid any animal rights campaign by knowing what animal abusers are operating in your neighborhood: exclusive PDF documents listing slaughterhouses, research labs, lab animal breeders, and fur farms available on the activist tools page.
Animal Liberation Front literature: A.L.F. Diary of Actions, exclusive U.S. printing of Keith Mann's From Dusk 'Til Dawn, A.L.F. Communique Collection, and more at the Voice of the Voiceless bookstore.
Vegan hip hop benefit: 12 artist vegan hip hop comp CD to raise money for animal liberation prisoners.