FUR EVER WILD HEADS TO COURT

I remember when I first heard about Terri Petter and her fur farm Fur-Ever Wild I just couldn't believe it.  How is it that the law allows endangered gray wolves to be slaughtered for their fur? I had reached out to other wildlife advocates to see if they had ever heard of such a thing and the response was pure disbelief, it just seemed too unreal.  Sadly, it's very real and as more and more details are released about this fur farm the more it puts the focus on our backwards system, one that has criminalized the abuse of domestic pets like dogs and cats but allows the torture and murder of captive animals like endangered gray wolves, fox, cougars, etc...

The name Terri Petter is one that always comes up when talking about Fur-Ever Wild but she does have a partner in all of this.  Both Terri Petter and Dan Storlie run Fur-Ever Wild together.  Although this is a partnership, I think both personal and professional, it is only Petter that I know who has publicly stated she does not kill her animals.

Read full article here

Her position with the public has always been she ONLY pelts her animals after they die of natural causes, that's what was told to me when I visited the farm and what I've read in articles and on Facebook from Petter and her supporters.  Her "I do not kill my animals" response to the questions about what she was doing with wolves has also sparked quite a defense from her friends, family and those who visit her fur farm.  The volunteers there have maintained Petter takes great care of her animals and would never kill a single soul as do those who visit the farm and enjoy hands-on play with the wolf pups.  Here is an example:

https://www.facebook.com/Fur-Ever-Wild-138516222844016/?fref=ts

https://www.facebook.com/james.roy.13?fref=ts

(all of the above screenshots were taken from pages/posts that were set to public)

You can also refer back to THIS BLOG POST to see how Terri also maintains that she does not harm her animals and if you do a general Facebook search of Fur-Ever Wild and look under the Star Tribune article about this fur-farm posted back in July 2015 you'll see the rabid defense of this fur farmer and the criticism of the public and animal rights groups for "spreading lies."  But court documents just don't lie.

When you appear before a judge, are deposed by lawyers or testify in a court hearing you are sworn in and expected to tell the truth.  It's one of those things that can really come back to haunt you if you have repeatedly misleaded the public and this is one of those times.  Although Terri Petter and her supporters have maintained Fur-Ever Wild is just a petting zoo, one full of loved and well cared for exotic animals, the court documents say otherwise:

They have had exotic animals for years.  99% of the animals are used for fur.  An animal that dies of natural causes, THE FUR IS NOT USABLE.  It is put to another use.

AN ANIMAL THAT DIES OF NATURAL CAUSES, THE FUR IS NOT USABLE!

When I visited the fur farm in spring 2015 I was told by our 14 year old guide that the wolves are pelted ONLY after they die of natural causes (old age, illness).   Why would you pelt an animal whose fur is not usable?

and then there is this:

Dan Storlie states that they PELTED 1500 FOX LAST YEAR.

PELTED 1500 FOX LAST YEAR!

But the volunteer comments I shared a screenshot from above say "they are not raised for fur."

I feel badly for their volunteers if they are sincere in their defense of this fur farm.  Do they know or maybe they don't want to know what Petter and Storlie have testified to.

Even if you don't trust the media, therefore, you avoid reading the articles that state this is a fur farm killing wolves, you cannot deny the court documents are where the truth is.  Court documents now have revealed wolves are being pelted and Dan Storlie states they pelted 1500 fox (read the court documents for even more details about this fur farm).

BUT… REMEMBER, THE ANIMAL THAT DIES OF NATURAL CAUSES, IT'S FUR IS NOT USABLE!

Dan Storlie states "this is a fur farm, they are pelts."  

So they aren't animals, they are PELTS!  Yes, that is exactly how a fur-farmer would see their animals, as pelts which = money.   If you read my last blog post on this you'll remember Petter denying that the picture used in the City Pages article was one of hers.  She is correct, it isn't one of hers, but it makes sense that she would be adamant about that because pelts sold at auction to become garments turn into this:  Wolf Fur Coat

Not things like this: City Pages Article Showing Taxidermy Wolf

So she was being honest about that picture.  Definitely not what her farm does with wolves because they are fur-farmers not taxidermists.   No stuffed wolves just fur coats, purses, that sort of thing.  I guess as a lay person I could have figured such since taxidermists are more the type that receive dead animals to stuff, they aren't usually the ones doing the killing.

KILLING!

For decades now people have fought to end fur-farming and yet here we are, finally getting to see who runs this type of business and how little oversight there is.  Minnesota is listed as one of the dirty dozen (Worst Fur Farming States) in the U.S. We are largely unregulated and allow extreme cruelty to animals raised and killed on fur-farms and when I found out Dan Storlie was an animal control officer for the United States Department of Agriculture I just threw my hands up in the air and sighed.

Storlie is a federally licensed animal control officer working in Wildlife Services for the United States Department of Agriculture. 

Remember, when the town of Deadwood, SD wanted to keep Petter from opening an animal exhibit in their town so a USDA employee was called out to do a compliance check and found that Fur Ever Wild was in full compliance with the law and all animals were being treated according to USDA guidelines.  USDA employee investigating the farm of a fellow USDA employee?  Um… ok.

Is this for real?  Well, this document says otherwise but does it mean Dan Storlie is not a USDA animal control officer elsewhere, I don't know.  It's all so convoluted.

So here is what we do know is real:

SUMMARY JUDGEMENT COURT DOCUMENTS

TERRI PETTER DEPOSITION

And don't forget that the 99% of the animals housed on Petter's property (Fur-Ever Wild) are killed for their fur and the animals better never try to escape or else…

*sigh

Next chapter on this: Eureka Township v Petter et al.

January 28, 2016 - 9:00 am
Dakota County Courthouse
1560 Hwy 55
Hastings, MN

(look for courtroom info on blue screen under Petter or Eureka).