A group of vandals suspected of eco-terrorism broke into a mink farm overnight in rural Ohio and released 40,000 animals from their cages and off the property, the Van Wert County Sherriff’s office announced Tuesday.
The crime happened early Tuesday morning at Lion Farms USA Mink Farm nearly 90 miles southwest of Toledo near Ohio’s border with Indiana. A sheriff’s deputy said the suspects destroyed the fencing and released nearly 25,000 to 40,000 domestic American minks.
As The Van Wert Times Bulletin noted, a group called Animal Liberation Front claimed responsibility for a similar raid on a mink farm in Van Wert County that “liberated” 150-200 animals into the wild. The group also claimed another raid in Massillon on the other side of the state.
“Minks are carnivorous mammals that stick to a diet consisting of fresh kills,” the Van Wert Sheriff’s office said in a statement. “They regularly hunt prey bigger 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.”
There is already purported killing of a horse by the freed mink.
[Story via The Van Wert Times Bulletin; image via Wikipedia]
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