Photo: MADS CLAUS RASMUSSEN/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty
Vandals released approximately 40,000 minks into the wild early Tuesday morning, freeing the animals from their cages at a farm in northwestern Ohio, according to authorities.
The domesticated minks are unlikely to survive in the wild because they lack survival skills and don’t know how to hunt for food, the sheriff’s office added.
Fort Wayne, Indiana, affiliateWANE 15reported that hunters bearing golf clubs and guns were encouraged to kill the released animals — comparable in size to ferrets — so that the minks don’t compromise the local ecosystem.
The Ohio Department of AgriculturetoldUSA TODAYthat minks are not considered dangerous. Still, the animals can be a nuisance, so the department advised residents to keep an eye on backyard livestock and poultry.
The sheriff’s office said that the loose minks might bite, and those from the wild hunt prey much larger than themselves.
“As a result, they can be a bothersome pest for homeowners, livestock owners, and property managers. Minks have proven to be especially costly and problematic for poultry ranchers as well as homeowners with ornamental ponds filled with koi and other fish,” the sheriff’s officeshared in a Facebook post.
The farm’s owner found a spray-painted message on the outside of one of the mink farm’s buildings which read, “ALF We’ll be back,” the owner told WANE 15, adding that they believe the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) was behind the break-in.
According to the FBI, ALF is a decentralized movement that promotes non-violent action against animal cruelty.
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In 2017, animal rights advocateslet loose roughly 40,0000 minksfrom a farm in Eden Valley, Minnesota.
The sheriff’s department said it is currently investigating the Ohio incident.
source: people.com
