Some 10,000 mink loose, missing after vandalism at Ohio farm

VAN WERT, Ohio (AP) — Vandalism freed 1000’s of mink at a rural northwest Ohio farm, leaving an estimated 10,000 of the small carnivorous mammals unaccounted for Tuesday night, the native sheriff stated.

So many minks have been killed crossing a close-by highway {that a} plow was introduced in to assist clear the carcasses away, stated Van Wert County Sheriff Thomas Riggenbach.

The property proprietor initially estimated 25,000 to 40,000 mink have been launched from their cages at Lion Farms, Riggenbach stated. However he stated staff on the farm have been in a position to corral most of the ones that remained on the property, which is lower than 15 miles from the Indiana state line.

He declined to debate any potential motive for the in a single day vandalism or say whether or not any suspect has been recognized as his workplace investigates.

A farm supervisor advised WANE-TV that somebody left a spray-painted message of the letters “ALF” and the phrase “we’ll be again.”

A bunch generally known as the Animal Liberation Entrance had beforehand claimed credit score for releasing a a lot smaller variety of mink on the farm in a earlier incident years in the past, the Occasions Bulletin in Van Wert reported.

Calls to a cellphone quantity listed for the farm have been unanswered Tuesday, and it wasn’t accepting messages.

The sheriff’s workplace initially warned residents within the space to be cautious with poultry flocks, small pets and koi ponds that the mink may assault, however it later stated the freed mink are thought-about domesticated and sure lack the talents to outlive within the wild.

The sheriff urged individuals who spot them to not method them, and to contact the farm or trappers for recapturing. He stated residents who need to hunt or entice mink should make certain they perceive what associated guidelines and exemptions apply of their space.