http://www.helsinki-hs.net/news.asp?id=20030923IE8 (9-28-03)
Nearly 8,000 mink released into wild late Sunday; most animals recovered


Suspected animal rights activists raided a Finnish fur farm on Sunday night. The raid took place in the village of Lahnakoski, which is part of the west coast city of Kokkola.
The doors of cages containing 7,800 mink were opened. However, thanks to efficient help from the neighbours, nearly all of the animals were caught by Monday evening.
News of the raid spread rapidly among the neighbours, who passed the message on to others. Fur farmers in the area rushed to help, and soon more than 100 volunteers were on hand to spend the rest of the day catching the runaways.

The raid was noticed in the early hours of the morning; police got a call after three am concerning mink running around in the area. The police were at the scene in about 20 minutes
The farmer, Bengt Hagström, who has been in the business for 20 years, would not estimate the extent of the damage.
The police had no information on the perpetrators, but the head of the investigation said that he is hopeful that they will be caught.
A number of tipoffs came from the public on Monday, and many reported sightings of a vehicle possibly used by the raiders.

Michael Holmberg, head of the Finnish Fur Breeders' Association, called for tougher actions against what he called "eco-terrorism".
It is likely that the raid was planned to coincide with a seminar in Kokkola marking the end of a three-year training period for fur farming.
The raid was also condemned by Interior Minister Kari Rajamäki (SDP). Local MP Nils-Anders Granvik (Swed. People's Party), also denounced the action when he visited the farm on Monday afternoon.

The Finnish Fur Breeders' Association says that about 60 fur farm raids have been reported since 1995.
In most of the raids, fur animals - fox and mink - have been released from their cages. There have also been cases in which buildings have been set on fire, animals have been coloured with dye, and pedigree charts have been destroyed.
This most recent raid involved a record number of animals. Usually the number of "liberated" animals has been about 1,000 at a time.
Fur farms in Finland produce about two million mink pelts and 2.3 million fox pelts a year. Finland is the world's biggest producer of fox fur, and the EU's third-largest mink producer right after Denmark and The Netherlands.
The fur industry has faced sharp criticism from environmentalists and animal welfare activists in many countries. The UK has banned fur farming in its territory.

excellent news :up:

i'm hoping they didn't catch all of them.....

don't you think this is generally a bad idea?

I read somewhere the damage is estimated at 300.000 euro.

damage to what? local farms that were ruined by the sudden onslaught of non-native animals thrown onto their lands? AR groups don't always think ahead very far.

Nah...I think to cages and so on.

from what i've read, they usually release them into an area that is a natural habitat for them.

so if there is sufficient natural habitat in the vicinity of the farm that is suitable for them, then they just open the cages and fences OR they re-locate them to a more suitable place....

Sunday 9/28/03

Nearly 3.500 mink were released from a furfarm in Maldegem, Belgium.

No one has claimed the release, but the police thinks it might be animal rights activists.....

Directly after the release a search to retrieve the animals was started. 5% of the animals is still not found.

I'm always torn on this subject. The damage that mink can do when released in large numbers like that and the ever lovely personality tendencies that they have make me hope that they're all rounded up.

Yet, how can I wish on them what I know is going to happen? I've seen with my own eyes the conditions that they live in. Made me avoid the mink farms in the village here merely on the off chance that I would see the cages.

If these "Animal Rights Activists" would be responsible for the animals they "release" I would wholeheartedly support them. But opening the cages and saying "go free" is simply irresponsible and counterproductive.

I wouldn't say counterproductive.

Several fur farms in Sweden and Finland have closed after an ALF visit.

Damage and loss of breeding records seems to work quite well.

I know this is an old thread, but it's new to me, and I feel that it is important to educate anybody who feels they are doing a kind thing by releasing minks.

"When animal-rights supporters opened cages at a mink farm in Staffordshire as part of a protest against fur farming in 1998, 8,000 American mink were released into the local countryside. The animals were born and bred in captivity and couldn’t fend for themselves in the wild. Many died within hours of release. A local farmer described it as animal cruelty, not animal rights, calling the animal-rights supporters terrorists.’

There are some - far too few - people who operate Mink Rescue operations - to rescue the mink that these morons put in danger by releasing them! Oddly enough, I am told by such a mink rescuer, the animal rights people have threatened to break in and release the minks she is nursing and caring for.

Absolutely incredible. How can people who call themselves animal lovers be so utterly ignorant about the needs of animals?

What of the ecosystem thousands of minks are released into? Should some of the domestic mink survive, or even flourish, upon being released, what damage will they do to the surrounding ecosystem? History is full of horror stories when new species are introduced, encountering native species who just could not compete with the newcomers.

The way to end mink farming is not to release them. The people who do this are, indeed, brainless terrorists. This is much crueller to minks than the farms themselves.

A local farmer described it as animal cruelty, not animal rights, calling the animal-rights supporters terrorists.He did? :eek:

He did? :eek:
I don't know what do make of that....you have some thoughts on the subject? I'd like to hear them.:yes:

Well I'm not sure about the liberations being more cruel to the minks themselves. How is starving to death in a shorter period of time and in freedom worse than walking circles in a tiny cage for a long time?

There is also already some kind of a mink population in the area - at least where I come from - formed from those minks who have escaped the fur farms by themselves. Oddly enough, though, anti-liberation people often don't seem to use this as a reason to fight against fur farms, I wonder why that is.

Fur farmers do the work of the devil.

May they rot in hell for a long long long long time. Maybe not eternity, because everyone deserves a second chance, but a long long long long long time is pretty long.

As for Mr. Holmberg, even if I put in asterisks what I think of him, I reckon the filter here would not accept it. I throw a shoe at him.

Have the ALF slacked off or something? Why no current example?

There was a raid on 29th April in Minnesota. Very successful. The mink farm had been visited 10 years previously.

Stupid revived threads . . .

I'm not anti-liberation - not at all!

I despise mink farms. I can't understand how humans can keep animals in tiny cages, only to end their life once their fur is marketable.

However, the Mink do suffer after being 'liberated'. Even if they didn't, countless domestic pets and wild species do with the influx if so many of these incongenial animals.

Anybody who undertakes these ventures (freeing animals) should have the intellect and forsight to learn about the species they are freeing, how domestic they may be, and what impact on the local ecosystem they may have. Doesn't seem they think past opening cage doors. It's just another pernicious, psychopathic form of idiocy.

Perhaps animal rights activists could pour energy and funding into Mink Rescue shelters, so these animals have a place to go to once they are freed from the farms.

It is the welfare of the animals that I am concerned about.

Yes, they do suffer, but is it worse for them than being on the fur farm?

I agree that the ALF activists should learn about the ecosystem effects. Generally, the effect on ecosystem is for me a much bigger question mark in mink liberations than the fate of the liberated minks themselves.

Have the ALF slacked off or something? Why no current example?
...I don't know what the alf is, I just found a quote that fitted what I was trying to say.

I believe that it's as fitting now as ever.

Durrr....never mind "Animal Liberation Front". Got it. I'm Canadian, that's my excuse, and I'm sticking to it!:dunce:

The people who do this are, indeed, brainless terrorists. This is much crueller to minks than the farms themselves.

I hate the way the word "terrorist" is thrown around these days. It is often now used to describe AR people, and even vegans, in the media. I don't think it's constructive at all for us to use it either - how was these animal rights people releasing the minks terrorism? I think terrorism is a more apt description for the fur farmers who deprive these animals of their liberty and basic rights to make profits!

The unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence by a person or an organized group against people or property with the intention of intimidating or coercing societies or governments, often for ideological or political reasons.

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/dict.asp?Word=terrorism

^that's how.

I hate the way the word "terrorist" is thrown around these days. It is often now used to describe AR people, and even vegans, in the media.

It's a quick way to dismiss people. It's all because of that ridiculous "War on Terror". If Mr. Stupid and his friends had chosen "Campaign for Peace" instead, there would never have been this ridiculous deformation of the word "terrorist". War rhetoric is never a good idea when it comes to restoring peace. It's not only counter-productive, it's idiotic.