OWNER OF FUR-EVER WILD - WRONGLY ACCUSED?

What a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive. 

My mother use to say the above quote anytime she caught someone fabricating a story.  Mom was a woman of integrity, she didn't have much patience for people who told lies.  I think that's why the truth is so important to me.  I started this blog as a way of discovering and then sharing what is factual vs. bullshit because I believe people have the right to know the truth, even if it's painful and sadly the truth I'm about to share is very painful to those of us who believe in protecting the voiceless… in this case the voiceless are  wild animals.

Minnesota has over 4 dozen fur farms.  You can find a list of those that are known HERE.

Fur farming and fur farmer's are an abomination.  There are no words to describe what I feel when the images of animals being enslaved, tortured and then slaughtered enters my mind.  Just attempting to write about it disgusts me so I'll just skip to the facts.

Terri Petter, owner of Fur-Ever Wild aka Wolves, Woods and Wildlife has finally decided to address the public over the allegations that she is a fur farmer.  Her post can be found HERE ON HER FACEBOOK PAGE and it's quite lengthy.  I don't blame her, I'd write that much if I was facing the same public scrutiny.  Everyone has a right to defend themselves and state their case, just as the public has a right to then analyze it.  Free country! Gotta luv it!  So, I'm going to address the various things she's posted on her Facebook and then the readers of this blog can judge for themselves based on the facts.  So here I go…


This is absolutely true.  Petter is correct, there is no law in the state of Minnesota that says you must kill your animals to be a fur-farmer.  I actually referenced the law in a prior blog post but here is a link to it again for those that would like to read it for themselves. Anytime you breed or propagate fur animals you must be licensed as a fur-farmer.  Does not mean you are killing animals.

MINN. STATS. 97A.105


(Taken from Petter's Fur-Ever Wild Public Facebook Page)

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1410871688941790&id=138516222844016&substory_index=0

When I originally began looking into Fur-Ever Wild I clung to the hope this was all a mistake.  Just because she had fur bearing animals and a fur farming license, it didn't mean she was killing anything... but the truth has a funny way of revealing itself as time goes on.

So let's move on to this portion of her Facebook post.

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1410871688941790&id=138516222844016&substory_index=0

Now let's look at just a small section of Terri Petter's deposition

For full document click > PETTER DEPOSITION

The attorney asks: How do you determine when pelting season ends?

Petter responds: It depends on what the -- if it's cold out.  It depends on how fast they blow their prime coats.  It depends on the animals.  Some of them that are younger don't get primed fur right away.  Some of them, you know, that are older get their winter coat earlier.

Nowhere does Petter say that pelting season depends on the market nor does she says it depends on whether they had a few dead animals on hand or not, what she does say is it depends on the animals, if they have primed fur, whether they've gotten their winter coat early.  Well, DEAD ANIMALS DON'T GROW FUR!!! In that deposition she is talking about pelting LIVE animals and in her Facebook posts she tells the public that the animals are already dead and died of natural causes, she didn't kill them.

Ok. So let's look at that.  CLICK HERE to see a document from 2008 (Eureka Board Minutes).  In this document Petter says the following (see p. 8 - 10)

According to Petter 99% of her animals are used for fur.  An animal that dies of NATURAL CAUSES, the FUR IS NOT USABLE.  It is put to another use.

Then when you read down a little further you'll see that the town board, with Terri Petter and Dan Storlie, have agreed that THERE IS TRULY A MARKET FOR THE FURS PRODUCED.  So, the guys in Toronto, Indianapolis and Waseca aren't buying furs from an animal that died of natural causes because THAT FUR IS NOT USABLE!! They are buying furs from animals that died of another cause and there is only one other way to die if not natural.

My guess, if you read Petter's entire Facebook post, is that the animals who have died naturally get fed to the wolves.  That's the "other" use she was talking about in the document above.

That brings me to the story about the 1500 fox that were pelted.

Here's what Petter had to say about that.

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1410871688941790&id=138516222844016&substory_index=0

And here is what Dan Storlie had to say about those fox at the meeting with the Eureka board

Read that ^ bit again and then ask yourself why would Dan Storlie be discussing the 1500 fox he pelted with the township board if it has nothing to do with his and Petter's fur farm/Ag business.  Their comments before this board have NOTHING to do with with someone else's fur farm but it has everything to do with theirs.  In Petter's Facebook post she references her inventory records.  She states, and I quote "but did they check and see if we ever even had 1500 fox in our possession?"  Well… how could anyone know how many animals she has in her possession at any single time considering not even the USDA was able to get that information.  Which is why Petter was cited for it.  READ FULL DOCUMENTS HERE & HERE

Now about the numbers again.  Petter states the following yet the numbers don't add up in favor of what she is saying.

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1410871688941790&id=138516222844016&substory_index=0

How can anyone verify how many animals she actually has at any given moment?

CLICK HERE FOR FULL INSPECTION REPORT

When you sift through numerous DNR reports you find numbers like this

31 wolves on March 1, 2012, 34 wolves are born, 7 wolves are sold, 24 wolves have have died and then it concludes with 34 wolves remain on Feb, 28, 2013.  But then a month later...

They've acquired 4 more wolves bringing the total to 38, 24 wolves were born and by the following year they had a total of 62 wolves.  Wow! Up and down it goes and the USDA struggles to keep track.
It's easy to get confused about all of this… but maybe that's the point.

And finally, not because I don't have more information that contradicts the Facebook post on the Fur Ever Wild page but because I have other business to attend to, I want to address this story about an opossum.  The City Pages article WILDLIFE PETTING ZOO TURNS FURRIER SLAUGHTERHOUSE mentions a opossum on Petter's farm.  Petter has denied this opossum ever existed and it has become a running joke on her FB page.

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1410871688941790&id=138516222844016&substory_index=0

Well, no worries, because it appears the opossum has been found > SEE DOCUMENT HERE

Oh, wait… looks like opossums are popping up all over the place.  If you look closely at the docs above you'll see that Petter & Storlie had 2 opossums in 2012 and 1 in 2013.  So the mysterious opossum isn't much of a mystery after all.

So Petter is right, you don't have to kill your animals to be a licensed fur-farmer but in this case…

As I said before, fur farms, no matter how despicable they are, they're legal.  Most of them remain hidden away from the public eye because they want to avoid oversight and criticism. This would be the first time I've come across fur farmers that have opened their door to the public and not only does that just mean for viewing but to be scrutinized as well.  Minnesotans and people everywhere have a right to analyze the public documents, question the business owners and ultimately demand its closure.

Looks like it's time to support the neighbors of Fur-Ever Wild in their fight to get this place to shut down.