11/10/05: Unjust Law Demands Principled Response - Lori Nitzel

Unjust Law Demands Principled Response

The Capital Times :: EDITORIAL :: 11A
Thursday, November 10, 2005
LORI NITZEL

On Tuesday, Peter Young was sentenced in federal court in Madison on two counts of animal enterprise terrorism for releasing thousands of mink from fur farms in the Midwest.
It's no surprise that the media have been quick to brand Peter a common criminal and even a "terrorist." The Wisconsin State Journal published an opinion on Oct. 10 calling him "naive and self-righteous." Peter Young did indeed break several laws, and he will serve time in prison for his actions.

However, his sentencing should remind the community of two things that the media severely neglected in their coverage of his trial: the place of his acts in the long tradition of nonviolent direct action in this country, and the fact that fur farming is a brutal business condemned by many governments and elected officials as uncivilized and unethical.

Civil disobedience has been used throughout history as a tactic to counter injustice. As the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. said, "An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law."

In fact, the laws allowing the farming of mink and other animals for their fur have been determined unjust in a number of countries. Six out of 15 European Union member states have taken steps to restrict, phase out, or ban fur farming. The UK and Austria have outright bans on fur farming due to ethical concerns. Closer to home, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, again for ethical reasons, vetoed legislation in August of this year that would have allowed the use of snares to trap animals for their fur.

If the American public were truly aware of fur farming practices, it would not be long before they demanded legislation restricting or banning the practice entirely.

It is not hyperbole to state that animals farmed for their fur live in highly unnatural conditions that cause great suffering and that they are "harvested" by methods such as electrocution, gassing with engine exhaust, or poisoning. Animals trapped for their skins suffer from crushed limbs (sometimes chewing them off to escape) and often die from blood loss, exposure, shock or infection before being found by those who set the traps. Additionally, many non-targeted animals including family companion animals like dogs and cats often become the unintended victims of these traps.

Peter Young committed a nonviolent criminal act in response to an unjust law, and that is why he is respected by those fighting against human and nonhuman injustice all over the world.

I am reminded of King's April 1963 letter to clergy from the Birmingham Jail, where he had been imprisoned for engaging in nonviolent direct action. He stated: "I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for law."

* Peter Young's actions deserve a closer and more respectful look in a civilized, compassionate society.

\ Lori Nitzel is an attorney with Madison-based Animal Law Associates of Wisconsin.