Minks let loose

[OH logger]

Last night near me there was a mink farm that got broke into and they released 25,000-40,000 mink out of their cages!!! What a dang shame. I hope that farmer has good
Insurance! What kinda stupid idiot does that?? There's a very busy state route (127) near there that I hear looks like a blood bath with all
The dead mink on it. I'd hate to live any where near there with chickens or any small pets. Wonder if those mink will even be able to survive on their own goin into winter? I'm ASSUMING it was an animal
Rights person that did it. Now how smart was that? The farmer
will likely take a bath, bunches of
Mink are allready dead on the road, and many will
Likely suffer cause they don't know
how to survive very well on their own. Only one's gonna make out are the trappers in the area (if the furs are even worth anything)

[Don P]

Wow, its a shame but I hope they all die quick, that's a piranha release  .

[Southside]

I highly doubt they will be able to make it in the wild.  If they did they will soon starve as they will run out of food as they overwhelm the supply.  Cruel way to go. 

[TN King]

Some folks need a good spanking.
Around here, quite a few bleeding hearts have moved into the area. They brought their snowflaking kids with them. They have no actual hands on skills just activists for one cause or another.
Lately, many hunting dogs have gone missing. Many hunting dogs have been found at the pound. Appears these flakes are hiking trails. They snatch dogs off their runs, remove their collars and turn them into the dog pound, claiming they found a lost dog. If the dog doesn't have a microchip they don't know who to contact. Who knows what they do to the dogs without a microchip.

Another prime example of graduating kids who can't read.

[rusticretreater]

The hungrier they get, the more vicious they will get as well.  I would think that the release constitutes a state level emergency as a biodiversity hazard.  That many mink in a small area will devastate small animal populations in short order, upsetting many food chains and ecosystems.

Some will get away, but the state will be able to trap many and professionals and property owners will kill/trap more.  There is still a market in fur. Why would a farm have that many mink?

[WV Sawmiller]

   The suspect was last seen fleeing the scene of the crime in a new Electric Vehicle towing a trailer mounted diesel generator. The GenSet was running and there was a power cord plugged into the charging jack of the EV. All members of law enforcement agencies have been advised to closely monitor west bound traffic on the Interstate highway systems. :

[SwampDonkey]

There are 3 mink farms here within 30 miles. One farm had been running 30 years the other two 5-10 years. I don't know where the market is. You never seen anyone wearing wool any more (except me ;D ), let alone mink.

An interesting site of the fur trade. Pretty big industry up here. Most Canadian farmed fur is here in the Atlantic region. Most is processed in Montreal.

https://canadamink.ca/index.php/mink-industry-in-canada/

[upnut]

I have used mink oil to waterproof boots once upon a time. For a real surprise look up mink oil uses, I had no idea how widely it is used in shampoos and skin care products. Then consider the millions of bottles of that stuff sold every day.....

Scott B.

[Nebraska]

I have strong feelings regarding this topic. I used to give veterinary assistance to a fox farm....It's ok for a group or an individual to pull a stunt like that in the name of some false virtue, but heaven help you if you helped yourself to their Prius to offset the losses they caused you.   I can't say much else but that  mink farm isn't any different than a flock of chickens, one of our cow herds, or the stand of Walnut trees below my house.
The rest of my thoughts do not belong here. 

[bigblockyeti]

I can't say much else but that  mink farm isn't any different than a flock of chickens, one of our cow herds, or the stand of Walnut trees below my house.
The rest of my thoughts do not belong here.

From a commodity standpoint, sure, from a predator standpoint, these are going to be a problem for many now prey animals, domestic and otherwise, in the vicinity.

[Crusarius]

it sure would be nice if ppl actually thought about the ramifications of their actions before making them. Think about how many house pets will be snack to all those mink. 

[kantuckid]

One author I like is (now deceased) Henning Mankell from Sweden. In his well known, Kurt Wallender, Swedish detective series, one event he wrote was a mink farm release, done by a group of "environmental activists" who are out to save the world, etc.. That novel was written maybe 25 years ago. 
Maybe they read the book? 
That would sure put the mark of death on a chicken coop?  :D

[kantuckid]

I have strong feelings regarding this topic. I used to give veterinary assistance to a fox farm....It's ok for a group or an individual to pull a stunt like that in the name of some false virtue, but heaven help you if you helped yourself to their Prius to offset the losses they caused you.   I can't say much else but that  mink farm isn't any different than a flock of chickens, one of our cow herds, or the stand of Walnut trees below my house.
The rest of my thoughts do not belong here.

Not to defend the idiots who did this, in any possible way, or make an argument they could use, but a chicken flock, livestock, etc., is edible while minks are not eaten much as food? Just saying... 
FWIW, I ran a trap line for years in KS, so that tells my point of view much better. 
 

[SwampDonkey]

Never seen a mink tear up a chicken, but I have seen what a weasel can do to a chicken coup.

[kantuckid]

Never seen a mink tear up a chicken, but I have seen what a weasel can do to a chicken coup.

I was assuming they'd eat a chicken. My chicken coops suffered mostly from Coyotes, fox, hawks, coons, owls and my neighbors dog.  

[Crusarius]

they don't eat them, they just kill them. The whole mortal enemy thing.

[OH logger]

My nephew heard and I'm not sure if it's true but I could easily believe it that on the busy highway near there they had snowplows on the state trucks to push the dead ones off the road. My sons teacher lives a few miles away From the monk farm and said her son hit 8 just in a short distance. That makes the snowplow story believable to me. They had it on the local news this mornin and the mink looked real gray compared to what we used to catch trapping. Surely theeres different breeds raised domestically. I really hate it for the farmer. What a shame 

[SwampDonkey]

Mother in her youth was left to take care of the chicken coup while my grandparents were in the hunting camps for a spell. One day she got up in the morning and the field was nothing but chicken feathers. Found out that it was a weasel. No little weasel could possibly eat all them chickens. I'm sure he had his fill during the slaughter though. ;)

Yes, fox and even skunks are a problem around here. I've seen a good many family of foxes nearby chicken coups, usually they use old ground hog holes around here. We have lots of ground hogs, some of them feed the foxes to. :D

[firefighter ontheside]

I sure hope the perp is caught and charged with myriads of dollars of fines for environmental harm.  That same environment they claim to be helping.

[SawyerTed]

Is it criminal mischief by some misdirected  down and outers or us this some anti-fur activists?  Time will tell.  

In the case of activists, they've acted in one way with blinders on with blatant disregard of the potential environmental disaster.

[TN King]

Perhaps authorities they should focus on the local college professors indoctrinating kids on how to be so-called environmental terrorists.  
Recall how many Hummer dealerships had their inventories destroyed by these, well indoctrinated thugs.
The hounds are foaming at the mouth waiting for the occupiers to arrive here.

[OH logger]

On the news they showed Spray painted on the side of the barn "ALF we'll be back". Sounds like activists to me but who knows. Sure sounds like more than a high school boy prank to me 

[OH logger]

Just read the local paper they say ALF stands for Animal Liberation Front. They took credit for releasing 1,000 mink in eastern Ohio a week or two ago.  And supposedly their website bragged about a "night time raid" of a mink farm in the same county as the mink that were let loose 2 nights ago back in 2013. Very likely to be the same farm cause they're not that common around here at least.  But they were clear to state they're not sure if ALF is involved this time 🤔

[moodnacreek]

They probably headed out to spike some timber trees. You know they don't eat meat or wear anything not made of plastic. nor do they eat eggs [that would be stealing]  and not even fish. I am surprised they had enough strength to open the cages. And an electric car so no carbon foot print and tow a generator.  Go out and trespass and ruin some ones investment and hard work. Who rases these kids?

[Don P]

Hopefully the media will get good footage of the carnage and talk to wildlife about the problems with releasing them into the environment. 

Can't fix them but can hopefully remove tolerance for that.