Peter Daniel Young

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Peter Young in May 2005.
Peter Young in May 2005.

Peter Daniel Young is an American animal rights activist. He was indicted by a federal grand jury in 1998 on charges related to fur farm raids in Iowa, South Dakota, and Wisconsin in 1997. He lived underground for seven years, before being arrested in San Jose and sentenced to two years' imprisonment in 2005. Young was released in February 2007.[1][2]

Contents

[edit] Early life

Young grew up in Los Gatos, California. At the age of nine, he moved to Mercer Island, Washington, near Seattle, where he graduated from Mercer Island High School. He was exposed to veganism in 1994 through hardcore bands such as Chokehold, Vegan Reich, and Earth Crisis, and later became involved with animal rights advocacy on the University of Washington campus after himself becoming vegan.[3] He became more active after discovering a chicken slaughterhouse in the city's Chinatown district and being haunted by what he saw there.[4]

[edit] Fur farm raids

Further information: Green Scare

In the fall of 1997, Young and a friend, Justin Samuel, set off from Washington with the plan to release animals from fur farms in the Midwest on their way to Florida. A two-week period in October saw the release of at least 8,000 animals in the name of the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) from various fur farms in Iowa, South Dakota, and Wisconsin, along with the destruction of the breeding records at each farm. On October 28, police officers pulled over Young and Samuel in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, after officers received a call from fur farmers who suspected that the two were surveying farms. Because of the lack of evidence, Young and Samuel were released. Their vehicle was impounded, and a search warrant application was granted the following day. The search of their vehicle yielded animal rights literature, fur farm addresses, and other suspicious items.[5]

[edit] Arrest and imprisonment

In September 1998, a federal grand jury indicted Young and Samuel each on four charges of "Extortion by Interfering with Interstate Commerce", and two charges of "Animal Enterprise Terrorism".[6] Young remained wanted by the FBI for over 7 years.

Samuel was arrested on September 4, 1999 in Belgium and was extradited to the United States to face trial. He agreed to cooperate with the government in exchange for a reduced sentence of two years. Young was arrested in San Jose, California on March 21, 2005 on charges of shoplifting from a local Starbucks and was extradited to Wisconsin to face trial for the fur farm raids.[5]

In August 2005, prosecutors were forced to drop the extortion charges against Young because a Supreme Court ruling had changed the definition of "extortion."[7] In September 2005, Young pleaded guilty to "conspiracy to release mink from 6 fur farms in South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Iowa; and the actual release of 2400 mink from a farm in Medford, Wisconsin".[2] He was sentenced to two years in federal prison; 360 hours of community service at a charity "to benefit humans and no other species"; $254,000 restitution; and one year probation. He was released from Victorville, California's federal prison on February 1, 2007.

Before being sentenced, he told the court, addressing fur farmers, that he would "forever mark those nights on your property as the most rewarding experience of my life." [8][9]

Since his release Young has been giving speeches and selling merchandise on Earth Crisis's reunion tour.[10]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Wanted animal rights activist arrested after 7 years on the run, Associated Press, March 29, 2005.
  2. ^ a b Animal activist to plead guilty and serve two years, Sign on San Diego, Associated Press, August 31, 2005.
  3. ^ Peter Young Interview in, No Compromise Magazine
  4. ^ Animal Liberation Activist Peter Young Discusses Legal Issues at UW Law School, Indymedia Seatle, 18th August 2007.
  5. ^ a b ALF Biography on Peter Young, Animal Liberation Front website.
  6. ^ Richmond, Todd. Associated Press, October 7, 2005.
  7. ^ Richmond, Todd. Feds drop extortion charges against accused mink farm raider, Associated Press, July 23, 2005.
  8. ^ Peter Young's Statement to the Court on sentencing, Portland Indymedia, 21st November 2005.
  9. ^ Peter Young's Statement to the Court, North American Animal Liberation Press Office, November 8, 2005.
  10. ^ Animal Rights: Activist, former animal liberator to speak at Pitt - News - News - Pittsburgh City Paper - Pittsburgh

[edit] Further reading