Facing 30 Years in Prison Is the Point

One of the dogs rescued on March 15 from Ridglan Farms.

Today, I’m back in court in the case that could cost me everything: my freedom, my future, and my dreams of a happy life with my wife and family. And the sacrifice is the entire point. Because facing 30 years in prison is the most powerful way for me to show that I mean what I say:

We must rescue the animals, no matter what it takes.

A lot of people might read those words, or hear me say them, and think, “Oh that’s just a rhetorical flourish, right? You don’t really mean it.”

But I do mean it. No matter what it takes. And the reason is illustrated by James, the beagle puppy from Ridglan whom my wife and I have adopted into our family.

When we wake, his floppy attempts to cuddle bring instant joy to the start of our day. James is so excited to see us he falls off the bed as he attempts to burrow into my arms in the morning.

When we go to sleep, James begs me to put him on the bed, then stands on my chest while he unleashes a furious storm of licks to my face. I start chuckling an hour before bed in anticipation of our silly nighttime ritual.

Even as I’m writing this, I have a big, stupid smile on my face. James is love. James is family. James is everything. If James were being hurt, I’d rescue him, no matter what it would take.

And there are still shadows of James’ past life—filled with people who hurt him—in his behavior. He often runs in circles, as if still trapped in a cage. He barks frantically at new objects we bring into the house—boxes, chairs, or even large bags—as if there might be monsters hiding underneath. And he will still occasionally stop suddenly on a walk, trembling uncontrollably, and refuse to take another step. James is haunted by ghosts we cannot see.

When he is afraid, I hold him tight and whisper, “No one is ever allowed to hurt you again. Papa simply won’t allow it.”

And I mean what I say.

The Other Dog

But there is another dog trapped in a cage at this very moment, just like James. There was no open rescue to break him out. No negotiation to set him free. He will be poisoned with toxic gas and drown as pools of blood form in his lungs. He will be cut open and vivisected, his organs picked apart in disturbing experiments. And he will never know love or family. No one will ever even give him a name.

He will just be YPP5, a serial code in an experiment.

And that dog needs me—he needs us—just as much as James. In fact, YPP5 was James just a couple months ago. YPP5 is the serial code seared into James’s ear and thigh.

It is a reminder to me daily: We must rescue the animals, no matter what it takes.

I push myself every day to do everything I can to help these desperate little creatures. And that includes going to prison. If the state chooses to punish me for saving James, so be it. It is a trade well worth taking.

Credibility and Sacrifice

But there is something even greater at stake than my freedom. It’s the credibility of our vision: a world where every animal is safe, happy, and free. To many, that sounds absurd. “Haven’t you heard of lions, bro! Cruelty is nature!” To others, it just sounds too hard. “We’re killing each other. And you’re asking us to be kind to… dogs?”

There’s one thing that can change that: what the Harvard scientist Joseph Henrich calls a “credibility-enhancing display,” or CRED. It can be hard to convince people to take a big change seriously, but whether you’re trying to save animals or get people to use solar panels, it’s much easier when your actions speak louder than your words. If you want people to use solar panels, use them yourself. If you want people to save animals, save them yourself. A study in Nature found that advocates using CREDs were 60% more effective than those who did not.

And, importantly, the single most powerful form of CRED is sacrifice. The monk who burned himself to stop the Vietnam War. The suffrage activists who undertook hunger strikes in prison. The civil rights activists who braved police violence. Actions of this sort don’t just create credibility. They go viral. They are unforgettable. They inspire. The greater the sacrifice, the greater the impact.

Suffrage activist Emmeline Pankhurst was imprisoned repeatedly.

We need more of this in the fight to save the dogs. It’s why I’m ok with facing 30 years in prison for rescuing James. Sacrifice was the entire point.

And it’s the point for you, too. Not everyone is going to risk prison time. Some people will sacrifice financial security. Others will sacrifice their reputations or even their careers.

But we all must risk something to save the dogs. That may be hard or scary or even life changing, but you won’t be alone in your sacrifice. Because more and more people are seeing the truth of what happens to animals, and they are saying to the world:

We must rescue the animals, no matter what it takes.

I’ll see you in court.

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Some other things

• Today, we will find out whether the court will protect our basic rights—or allow the state to undermine them. Two central issues will be litigated. The first is whether I have the right to contact my co-defendants. They are, of course, witnesses to the case, and we are in a joint defense. Barring us from any contact fundamentally undermines our Sixth Amendment right to present a defense. We will thus be moving the court to lift the unconstitutional order imposed by a commissioner that bars us from any contact. The second issue is whether we will have a speedy trial. This is a right guaranteed by Wisconsin law and the Constitution. But, already, the government has indicated that it will refuse to uphold that right. The prosecutor has stated he is too busy to bring the case in 90 days. Conveniently, Ridglan will likely be closing—its employees leaving and its records disappearing—in that time. We will fight hard today against these unconstitutional efforts by the state. I’ll update everyone on X/Twitter, after the hearing. (We don’t think there will be a livestream.)

• We had a great meeting on Sunday regarding the new plan to save all the dogs. I spoke about the historic opportunity to rescue all the dogs trapped in labs by the end of the year. And we heard from many other people with questions and feedback on that plan—including an inspiring proposal to march from Albany to MBR, the largest vivisection facility in the nation. I will publish the plan shortly after reviewing everyone’s feedback. That should happen in the next 48 hours. So stay tuned.

• In the meantime, we’re looking for organizers, so please apply here—or nominate someone else! While the plan hasn’t finalized, we know that you are an important part of it. I’ll be writing more this week on what we are looking for in organizers. But by far the most important attribute is commitment to our vision: nonviolence, and rescuing the dogs. It is often the case that the best leaders are not the ones to self-nominate. So if you can think of someone who is organized and committed and ready to help, I encourage you to nominate them!

That’s all for now!