An animal rights activist wanted for allegedly releasing thousands of animals from Wisconsin fur farms in 1997 has been arrested in California. 

Peter Daniel Young, 27, had been a fugitive for more than seven years when he was arrested on March 21 in San Jose for shoplifting at a Starbucks.  Authorities found an outstanding federal warrant against him after conducting a fingerprint check.

Young was wanted for breaking into three Wisconsin fur farms in 1997, releasing thousands of animals and causing more than $200,000 in damages.  The incident was claimed by the Animal Liberation Front, the nation’s most active extreme animal rights movement.

Shortly after the raids, Sheboygan County Sheriff’s deputies stopped Young and another man, Justin C. Samuel, in their vehicle, but let them go.  A subsequent search of their vehicle uncovered tools and a list of fur farms in the U.S.

In 1998, a federal grand jury in the western district of Wisconsin indicted Young and Samuel for Hobbs Act violations and two counts of Animal Enterprise Terrorism.  Samuel was apprehended in Belgium in 1999 and extradited to the U.S.  In 2000, Samuel pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two years in prison and ordered to pay over $360,000 in restitution. 

Young’s arrest has mobilized animal rights activists, who have created a Web site supporting him.  The site blames Samuel for informing on Young as part of his plea agreement with the FBI.