Peter Young has been released.

It is a good day today.

:pibo:

thats awesome, i just googled him to see who he was and found a site where you could write to him, i totally would have, i think what he did was awesome!

I take advantage of his release to remind everyone of his statement to the court that he made before he began his prison sentence:

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The following is Peter Young's statement to the court at his sentencing on November 8th, 2005. As Peter did a large amount of improvisation, the below text is not a verbatim record, but an approximate account based on his notes and the memory of supporters in the courtroom.

This is the customary time when the defendant expresses regret for the crimes they committed, so let me do that because I am not without my regrets. I am here today to be sentenced for my participation in releasing mink from 6 fur farms. I regret it was only 6. I'm also here today to be sentenced for my participation in the freeing of 8,000 mink from those farms. I regret it was only 8,000. It is my understanding of those 6 farms, only 2 of them have since shut down. I regret it was only 2.

More than anything, I regret my restraint, because whatever damage we did to those businesses, if those farms were left standing, and if one animal was left behind, then it wasn't enough.

I don't wish to validate this proceeding by begging for mercy or appealing to the conscience of the court, because I know if this system had a conscience I would not be here, and in my place would be all the butchers, vivisectors, and fur farmers of the world.

Just as I will remain unbowed before this court- who would see me imprisoned for an act of conscience- I will also deny the fur farmers in the room the pleasure of seeing me bow down before them. To those people here whose sheds I may have visited in 1997, let me tell you directly for the first time, it was a pleasure to raid your farms, and to free those animals you held captive. It is to those animals I answer to, not you or this court. I will forever mark those nights on your property as the most rewarding experience of my life.

And to those farmers or other savages who may read my words in the future and smile at my fate, just remember: We have put more of you in bankruptcy than you have put liberators in prison. Don't forget that.

Let me thank everyone in the courtroom who came to support me today. It is my last wish before prison that each of you drive to a nearby fur farm tonight, tear down its fence and open every cage.

That's all.

Who is Peter Young?

http://www.supportpeter.com/

Indeed, it is a good day.

I like this quote of his:
It is to those animals I answer to, not you or this court.

This is the customary... every cage.


that was awesome.

good day indeed that a hero has been released.

Peter Young still needs our support, and may need it in the future.

There are some possible court cases pending.

troub: He is indeed a hero. Once I wrote to him and I reminded him of the story of Diogenes, the Greek philosopher who would walk around Athens in broad daylight with a lit lantern. When people laughed at him and asked why he was carrying a lantern in broad daylight, Diogenes said "I am looking for a man". I told Peter that if Diogenes had known about him, that he could have stopped his search, for he would have found one.

I don't know if my letter ever reached him.

His statement to the court is impressive and inspiring.

His statement to the court is impressive and inspiring.

Yes, it was. He's a good man.

I hadn't heard of him before now. What happened to the 8,000 mink?

What happened to the 8'000 mink? Well, they were not followed one by one, so it's hard to say. But one could imagine that some lived and some died. And the horror stories that people talk about of how the mink destroy the ecosystem do not seem to have materialised.

do you mean they were just released right there at the mink farm?

Very happy to read this. Wonder what will happen with the warrant for his arrest.

do you mean they were just released right there at the mink farm?

The cages were opened and the mink were freed.

If I understand correctly, I think one or more mink farms shut down because of this.

Depends really, they could have released the bulk of the mink from the two farms that closed and then didn't manage to release enough from the rest to warrant their closure. If that's what you meant :sealed:

I say :nana: I heard of him several months ago and that is one very inspiring speech.

yayyyyyyyyy

i have a stupid question i think... i think it's great that they were released, but can they make it out in the open like that? I dont know much about these animals at all... It would just be awful to be freed and then run out on to a hwy or something. I know it's better then the life they would have had, i guess i'm just curious... sorry if thats a dumb question

joyinc: These animals were born to die an unnatural death in a cage. They are bred just so that some motherf....ers can earn easy money. Better be run over by a car than be electrocuted up your anus.

At least this way, SOME of them went free.

But don't forget, the aim of this kind of action is not ONLY to free animals, but to cause economic damage to the animal exploiters. Releasing thousands of mink from a mink "farm" certainly inflicts great economic harm on the scum who run these places. And a bank will think twice before lending money to anyone who wants to open a new one.

What he said in court was beautiful, made me eyes tear up.

thanks diana... it makes alot of sense looking at it that way.

i cant believe there are so many places out there that do this to animals... i'd like to get involved somehow, but dont know where to start

i saw a lady wearing a fur coat today and it makes me so sad and angry. a friend of mine saw the look on my face and said 'dont worry, that coat is probably as old as she is' but that didnt make me feel any better. i dont care how old you are, it's just not right

i cant believe there are so many places out there that do this to animals... i'd like to get involved somehow, but dont know where to start

i saw a lady wearing a fur coat today and it makes me so sad and angry. a friend of mine saw the look on my face and said 'dont worry, that coat is probably as old as she is' but that didnt make me feel any better. i dont care how old you are, it's just not right

One thing you can do is talk to or confront fur wearers about what they're wearing. One of the things that will make fur less appealing to fur buyers and wearers is when anyone who goes out wearing fur is approached.

i saw a lady wearing a fur coat today and it makes me so sad and angry. a friend of mine saw the look on my face and said 'dont worry, that coat is probably as old as she is' but that didnt make me feel any better. i dont care how old you are, it's just not right

I never let those people pass me without a comment. Sometimes I'm just nice and tell them that their coat is horrible. But usually I inform them with a look of disgust on my face that "there is blood running out of their coat".

I make an exception for very old ladies.