Canadian mink farmers say they are sick of animal rights activists breaking into barns and releasing animals, so they’re offering a $100,000 reward to catch invaders.
In late April, a group of people entered a mink farm in southern Ontario and opened cages containing about 500 animals, mostly nursing female mink.
The act may cause the death of 2,000 newborn kits, which are completely dependent on their mothers for food and warmth, said Kirk Rankin, former president of the Canada Mink Breeders Association
“Several Ontario farms were attacked like this last summer,” said Rankin, including his mink ranch in Ontario. “These criminals don’t think that people have a right to use animals, fine, but these are domesticated animals that have been raised on farms for more than 100 generations. They cannot fend for themselves in the wild, so most will die…. Releasing nursing females is cruel and just plain stupid.”
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In a telephone interview, Rankin said some mink ranchers have security cameras and motion lights to deter animal rights activists, but those measures didn’t work in this case.
“They unplugged the camera in the building they went into,” he said. “They had been on the farm a year ago… (because) they released video of about seven or eight different farms.”
The Ontario Provincial Police are investigating the incident but mink ranchers are offering a $100,000 reward for information, which leads to an arrest, because they’re frustrated with the non-stop harassment.
“Whoever released these mink showed a complete disregard for the welfare of the animals; they should be charged for animal cruelty,” said Gary Hazlewood, executive director of the CMBA. “Breaking into a farm and releasing mink is a criminal action.”
There are about 200 mink farms in Canada, with the highest concentration in Ontario. The mink are raised for their fur, which is primarily exported to China and Russia.
Contact robert.arnason@producer.com
