Approximately 10,000 of the small carnivorous mammals were unaccounted for Tuesday evening, according to the local sheriff, after vandalism freed thousands of mink from a rural farm in northwest Ohio.
According to Van Wert County Sheriff Thomas Riggenbach, so many minks were killed while crossing a neighboring roadway that a plow had to be sent in to help remove the carcasses.
According to Riggenbach, the property owner first claimed that between 25,000 and 40,000 mink were liberated from their cages at Lion Farms. However, he reported that farm personnel were able to corral the majority of them still on the ranch, which is less than 15 miles from the Indiana state line.
As his office investigates, he declined to comment on a possible motive for the nocturnal vandalism or whether a suspect has been discovered.
A farm manager told WANE-TV that someone spray-painted the initials “ALF” and “we’ll be back” on the property.
The Times Bulletin in Van Wert reported that a group known as the Animal Liberation Front had previously claimed credit for releasing a much smaller number of minks at the farm years ago.
Tuesday, the advertised phone line for the farm was unanswered and not receiving messages.
The sheriff’s office initially cautioned area residents to be wary of poultry flocks, small pets, and koi ponds that the mink might attack, but later stated that the mink were likely domesticated and lacked the skills to survive in the wild.
The sheriff urged anyone who encounters them to refrain from approaching them and instead contact the farm or trappers for recapturing. Residents who want to hunt or trap mink in their area must be aware of the applicable regulations and exemptions, according to him.
A similar occurrence occurred in 2017 when over 40,000 mink were liberated from a Minnesota fur farm.