MINNESOTA ALLOWING FARMERS TO BREED GRAY WOLVES FOR THEIR FUR?

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There is a little known place here in Minnesota called Fur-Ever Wild.  It is difficult to understand who or what they are since the stories in articles paint one picture and the owners of Fur-Ever Wild paint another.  Over the past year I've heard several negative things about this place and read negative reviews online but it wasn't until I was told they were breeding wolves for their fur that I thought it was time to check it out.   

As I drove up the gravel road to Fur-Ever Wild I tried to keep an open mind.  I admit it was tough considering what I read online prior to visiting and what I heard from those who had seen it, but I did my best.

When I arrived I connected with a friend and fellow wolf advocate who also had an interest in seeing the place she heard so much about.  We both brought camera's with us and made sure to get permission to photograph and video before going inside.  The place looked ok from the outside, you couldn't really see the animals as you walked up to buy your ticket and it wasn't until I approached the front walk to connect with a "tour guide" that the stench hit me.  The only thing I can compare the odor to was the house next to my mom's old place in St. Paul.  The man who lived next door had several large dogs that he severely neglected.  There was a layer of dog feces throughout his yard and neighbors would frequently call animal control for the repulsive smell of dog urine mixed with rotting food and poo.  That is what I smelled at Fur-Ever Wild.  At several points throughout the tour it was so strong that I gagged and had to remove myself from the vicinity.  It must be the same smell that the neighbors are referring to in this article just published yesterday: Fur-Ever Wild 'Agriculture Farm' Stinks, Eureka neighbors say.

As we started our tour, lead by a 14 yr old girl, we came upon the red fox.  There was a line of several small cages with fox of various colors in each (gray, white, brown, red).  We were told by our guide that they were breeding for the color variety.  It was here that the stench was the strongest (and again at the end near the cougars enclosure).  In one of the cages was a dead rat and when we questioned our guide if they fed it to the fox she hesitantly admitted that it wasn't meant to be food but that it had wandered in and was killed by the fox.  The fox had not consumed it but instead they were trying to bury it.  A rat in the cage didn't surprise me considering the smell was likely an attractant.

Two Fox Sharing a Single Small Cage

Gray Rat on Right of Fox

As we walked away from the fox we came upon the wolves.  There were lots and lots of wolves in separate enclosures, most of which in my opinion were way too small to house an animal of their size.  In 2014 an article had the owner, Terri Petter, claiming the farm had 25 wolves and in another article printed March 2015 she claimed they had 32 wolves but when she stopped near us on our tour she said they had 36 wolves.  So how many wolves they actually have on this farm is questionable but I counted at least 20.

Since the owner claims to be using her wolves for education I asked this guy (pictured below) when do wolves lose their winter coat and he shrugged his shoulders.  So I inquired further and asked "in May or June?" and he said "probably."  I assumed he must be an owner, guide or educator considering he was standing next to the fence petting the wolves but when he couldn't answer a basic wolf question I realized I must be wrong. I turned to our guide and asked if people could just go up to the fence and pet the wolves and her response was "the DNR doesn't permit the public to come in contact with the wolves." So who was the guy petting the wolves? I don't know.

It was at this point I noticed two large pigs in an enclosure that ran adjacent to a smaller wolf enclosure.

My friend asked our guide if the pigs were bothered being so close to the wolves and our guide said they were not.

The owner was standing around us at this leg of the tour and she started telling us a story about where they get their road kill (the wolves are fed road kill or expired meat donated by Sam's Club and Walmart).  Her story lead to a time when she found live deer had somehow found their way inside the barrier of her property which put them near the wolves.  She concluded with "I don't know how they got inside." It was then that I took a good look at the fencing surrounding the wolves and noticed that it wasn't only a very flimsy fence but it didn't appear very high either.  It is my understanding, from an article I read after the Mexican wolf escaped from the Minnesota zoo,  that wolves can jump fences that are 8 feet high.  The fences on this property may have been that high but they also had old dead tree trunks nearby that would make great spring boards. (notice that in picture above).

According to Mission: Wolf

"A wolf or high percentage wolf-dog can jump at least 8 feet from a standstill and are excellent climbers and diggers.  In addition, a wild wolf's territory is usually at least 500 sq. acres.  Without room to run, play and exercise, a wolf or wolf-dog will either become super-territorial and aggressive or very despondent and sickly."

Despondent is how I'd describe every wolf I saw at Fur-Ever Wild.

The above wolf is laying near a snack shoot.  They use a pvc pipe to slide hot dogs (that guests can purchase) to the wolves.  HOT DOGS! Not what I think of as a healthy food for any species.  My friend asked our guide if just tossing in some hot dogs creates a sort of free-for-all with the wolves and I didn't hear the answer to that but I am going to assume that would be a YES!

After looking at the wolves and trying to understand how a place like this could exist we moved on to the bobcats and arctic fox.

At this point all I am seeing is fur coats everywhere.  Seriously! I've never seen so many animals sought after for their fur in one spot.  It really bothered me.  First the poor living conditions and just knowing the owner of Fur-Ever Wild has a fur bearing license.  It made me sick to think about.

What's that?  A fur bearing license?  Yeah, I'll get to that later.  Hang with me.

The arctic fox, the bobcat and cougars were all in cages much too small for them, especially the cougars.

This little guy was waiting for a snack that never came :(

After the bobcats we ended up walking over to another wolf enclosure.  I was videotaping a bit throughout to have a record of things I was asking and seeing, especially so no one can say I made this all up later.  I am not posting the video here just to protect the identity of the 14 yr old that was guiding us, who happens to be just a volunteer.

Several questions were asked at the last wolf stop (by me and another visitor) that anyone with basic wolf knowledge should be able to answer.  After all, the owner says Fur-Ever Wild is about educating people on wolves.

Questions asked:

1. A pregnant wolf was crying incessantly so I asked why the wolf was crying and our guide didn't have an answer other than "I don't know but she isn't in pain."

2. The other visitor asked if the wolf "Sitting Bull" was related to any of the other wolves in the enclosure and our guide said "I don't know."

3. The other visitor asked if the gray wolf is the largest member of the canid family in the world and our guides answer was "I don't know."

By the way,  I asked if all of their wolves were named after American Indians since I heard our guide call out Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse as she showed us around and she told us that many of the wolves were named after American Indians. Ugh! Personally I found that to be pretty crass considering the environment these animals exist in and the fact that American Indians have a spiritual connection to the wolf and see the wolf as their brother.

It was here at the last wolf enclosure that we were educated on what they do with wolf pups.  The crying wolf that I mentioned above is pregnant.  This is pregnant mama (below)

Our guide informed us that the wolf pups are taken away shortly after birth and hand raised by humans so they can socialize them for sale or trade. She did mention harvesting fur from the wolves but said it was done only after the animal died and then the fur was used for education.  Not at any time were we shown fur or educated in anyway about wolves fur.  I don't even know what a fur education entails or why someone would need one, unless you are in the fur business.  After all, if you want to use wolf fur to teach small children about wolves the way the DNR does at the MN State Fair, then you can easily obtain a wolf fur in a Conservation Education Kit from various sources online.  Plus, how many wolf pelts does a person need to educate someone?

Anyway… at the end we saw a couple of wolf pups being handled by two children and their parents. The wolf pup, I was told, was 18 weeks old.  I stuck around long enough to snap a picture of that.

Last were the cougars and raccoons.  This is where you really saw how distraught the animals were.  There was one raccoon walking in circles, not stopping for even a second.  It reminded me of when squirrels get hit in the head by cars whipping by and they become disoriented.  It was very sad to see.  The raccoons and cougars were pacing back and forth.  The pacing is called Stereotypical Behavior (SBs) and it has been researched extensively.  In short, it means the animal is unhappy.  Here is a write up about SB to educate yourself - CLICK HERE


"An animal with SB has not had a good life, and may have welfare problems still. Early rearing conditions that predispose animals to later SB are typically non-naturalistic, as we have seen, and so probably reduce wellbeing" 

When we paused at one of the cougar cages I noticed a woman petting one of the cougars (notice hand in pic below).  I asked our guide again about people coming in contact with the animals at Fur-Ever Wild.  She proceeded to tell us then that volunteers, once they had worked at the farm long enough and gained the trust of the owner, were allowed in the enclosures with the animals.  She said she, herself, a fourteen year old girl, had gone into one of the wolf enclosures to pick up bones and the wolves were jumping up on her wanting to play.  I asked her how long she'd been volunteering for Fur-Ever Wild and she said since summer 2014.  

So, what did I take away from this visit, was it as bad as I had heard?  Here is what I think.  

I have never been a fan of zoos because I don't believe animals belong in captivity but after seeing Fur-Ever Wild I think zoos look like palaces compared to this place.  This place is no zoo, no educational facility nor is it a type of sanctuary.  This place is most definitely a fur farm.  Now, the owner claims that they harvest fur only after the animals die but here are the facts…

Terri Petter has registered as owner of two business: Fur-Ever Wild and Wolves Woods and Wildlife.

According to THIS ARTICLE Terri Petter has a Minnesota Game Farm license, a USDA permit for animal welfare and a Minnesota Fur Farmer's license.

THIS ARTICLE makes it clear that she is running a fur farm business which is why a judge originally ruled in her favor to keep the farm when she was sued by her township.

"Neighbors sued their Eureka Township board, arguing that most of these animals were exotic and therefore prohibited by a 2005 ordinance.  When the case first went to court the judge ruled that Petter could have exotic animals if they were used for fur farming, which the township allows."

Terri Petter and her husband frequently take their wolves and other fur animals to hunting and trapping shows: Red River Valley Sportsmen's Show, The Sioux Empire Sportsmen's Show and The Minnesota's Sportsmen's Show, etc…

Her volunteer application for Fur-Ever Wild even asks how the applicant feels about hunting, trapping and fur products.

The home page of her website makes it clear she respects hunters and trappers and sees them as true conservationists.  She even supports the NRA (National Rifle Association).

This warning by the USDA gives us another look at this business and how these two operate. CLICK HERE TO SEE DOCUMENT.  The warning issued to Terri Petter is related to animal cruelty.  

Their type of business is considered so bad that several organizations petitioned the U.S Department of Agriculture to stop them from allowing the public to come in close contact with cougars, bears and non-human primates and to put restrictions in place to better serve the public.  They are specifically named in this PETITION - Wolves Woods and Wildlife is listed on page 12. 

Then we have this THIS COURT DOCUMENT. Where the battle between Terri Petter's and the Township is clear.  She cannot have her animals if she isn't running an agriculture business, which is what she's licensed for.  So in court documents she declares she's a fur farmer that skins "all" her animals.  She can't even keep track of the number of animals she has for court because they fluctuate due to their being skinned.  That would explain why in my comments above her statements about how many wolves she has changes month to month.  

Now the question is, what is Terri Petter really doing? Is she just breeding and selling fur bearing animals or is she harvesting their fur as well and if so, is she truly only harvesting fur after an animal dies?  According to THIS ARTICLE PLUS VIDEO - WATCH THE VIDEO she is a fur farmer, not much unlike those that have mink farms, but do you need a fur farm license if you aren't harvesting and selling fur or if you are just harvesting fur after death? Yes!  According to Minnesota Statute 97A.105 - you are required to have a fur farm license if you breed and propagate fur animals which Terri Petter says she is doing.  But, according to her husbands Facebook page she also sells fur products.  Products she'd likely say were obtained after her fur animal died.  Not much unlike her guide told us during our tour, except she said the fur was harvested after death for educational purposes.  

Well here is the problem I have with all of that.  There is no oversight by the DNR or the USDA of Fur-Ever Wild or any fur farm for that matter.  Just READ THIS REPORT  by Born Free USA on fur farms across the nation.  Minnesota is in the top dirty dozen.  Oversight of these farms is seriously lacking and it would explain why there are no consequences for Fur-Ever Wild allowing a 14 year old and other members of the public to have physical access to wild adult predators such as cougars and wolves, why the place is so unkempt that it reeks of animal feces and rotting meat, that rats are wandering into cages and enclosures are too small to allow for natural movement of the animals.  In the last screen capture above it says the DNR inspected her farm and found the stench wasn't an issue.  Well if that is true then someone at the DNR needs to lose their job.

Isn't it odd, the DNR permits people to kill hundreds of wolves in the wild yet they license people like Terri Petter to breed them and skin them to make a profit.  Does that make any sense?  So Terri Petter could very well be saying she only harvests fur from her animals after death to placate the customers so they keep visiting her "farm."  After all… she needs that money to keep her business going.

She tells the public she only skins her animals after death, she tells the courts she's running a fur farm business and that the animal numbers fluctuate due to breeding and "pelting" (harvesting of fur) - She never once says it is because of animals dying.  Fur harvested before or after death is irrelevant, SHE IS RUNNING A WOLF BREEDING FUR FARM!!! AND SHE TAKES THE WOLVES TO HUNTING AND TRAPPING SHOWS FOR A REASON!!

Terri Petter has also stated that she sells her animals to other zoos and our guide confirmed that information on our tour yet zoos maintain they only get their animals from other zoos or breed their own, so who is she really selling to?  In addition to that, how can she afford to feed 36 wolves?  Each wolf eats between 2.5 to 7 lbs of meat a day, at a minimum that means 90 lbs of meat daily and then you add in all of the other animals she has to feed.  Is Sam's Club and Walmart really providing that much meat? She must be doing well financially because she's building a gift store on her property and she is opening another fur farm business in Deadwood, SD.

No matter how you look at all of this, the reality is visitors dollars to this fur farm encourage and support Terri Petter's way of life which is keeping wild animals in captivity for profit and for personal pleasure and doing so under some of the most dangerous and appalling conditions I have ever seen. No zoo would get away with what Terri Petter gets away with.

Whether the fur animals are being sold off to canned hunts in Texas, for research in a lab or possibly to a zoo somewhere, what it all means is that in the end the person in charge isn't providing any sort of sanctuary but instead she's created a prison for personal gain. She's not a wildlife biologist, I've not seen anywhere that she has any credentials related to the care or understanding of wild animals and yet she's allowed to raise and breed non-traditional farm animals just because Minnesota allows it, all the while people feed her appetite for animal abuse by going there.

If you have as much a problem with this as I do then write to the USDA, DNR and the attorney for the Eureka Township who is suing Terri Petter to put her out of business. The Township has valid concerns about smell and safety that is being ignored so the more that support them in this fight the better.  We also need to let the DNR and USDA know that there are several violations on this farm that need to be addressed.

There is a petition to prevent them from opening a new location in Deadwood, SD.  Please Sign HERE.

UPDATE!! 5/19/15 - Information within a deposition that was taken in relation to the lawsuit filed by Petter's neighbors has clarified what Terry Petter is doing with her wolves.  Screenshots of the deposition have been shared HERE. Unfortunately that link doesn't show you the complete deposition so you don't get to see the most damning evidence of a wolf fur farm at work.  I don't know the legal liabilities of sharing a complete deposition on my blog so I cannot post it but the information in the link above is clear, this is a fur farm posing as a petting zoo.