Animal rights activist says he's just a man with a message
(Published Tuesday, October 9, 2007 11:37:19 AM CST)
By Ann Marie Ames aames@gazetteextra.com
BELOIT-He's been called a hero and a terrorist.
He wants you to see he's just a person.
Animal rights activist Peter Young will speak Thursday at Beloit
College, offering his presentation, "Ecoterrorism: Animal Liberation
and the Crackdown on Social Activists."
Despite the intimidating-sounding title, Young is not speaking with an agenda but just telling his story, he said.
"Whatever people take, they take," Young said.
In 1997, Young went on a two-week raid across the Midwest, releasing
more than 20,000 mink and fox from fur farms, including 3,000 mink from
Brown's Mink Ranch, 3457 Riverside Drive, Beloit.
Young, 30,
remained at large until 2005, when he was arrested on an unrelated
charge in Seattle. He served two years in federal prison on a charge of
animal enterprise terrorism.
He was released in February and lives in Los Angeles.
The raid and resulting prison term gave Young an air of notoriety that doesn't necessarily benefit the cause, he said.
"Anytime you elevate someone to martyr status, you create this gap
between the kind of people who carry out these actions and the average
person," Young said. "It certainly doesn't help the animals."
Young has been called a role model, but it's not a term he likes.
"Role models have no place in this movement," he said. "People should
be motivated by their hearts, not so much by the actions of other
people-ultimately by what happens to animals, not what some person did."
Young, a native of Silicon Valley, Calif., who grew up in Seattle, said
his goal is to teach people what motivates a person to take the kind of
action he did. The raid was meant to help animals, not antagonize
farmers, he said.
"I want people to understand that people who do what I did-break the law for animals-are motivated by compassion," Young said.
For those who don't want to break the law for animals, Young said the
best thing to do is get educated on the animal production industry. A
simple and effective way to help animals is to become a vegan-someone
who doesn't eat meat, eggs, milk or other animal products, he said.
"When it comes down to it, my only message is going to be to ask people
to consider their actions when they do things like eat meat," Young
said. "Be considerate."
Young's presentation is sponsored by
Beloit College's HEALTH Club, an organization dedicated to promoting
caring and ecologically responsible lifestyles through activism and
education.
If you go What: Animal rights activist Peter Young will present "Ecoterrorism: Animal Liberation and the Crackdown on Social Activists."
When: 4 p.m. Thursday
Where: The Richardson Auditorium in Morse-Ingersoll Hall on the Beloit College campus.
Details:
Young is known for a 1997 raid in which he freed 20,000 mink and fox
from cages throughout the Midwest. Young's presentation is free and
open to the public.
