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As many as 40,000 mink were released from their cages at a mink farm in northwest Ohio overnight Monday, police say.
During the overnight hours, suspects destroyed fencing at Lion Farms USA Mink Farm in Hoaglin Township and released 25,000 to 40,000 mink from their cages at the farm, Van Wert County Sheriff Thomas Riggenbach said in a news release posted on the office’s Facebook page Tuesday.
The incident, being considered as a breaking and entering crime or vandalism, remains under investigation, Riggenbach said. But the office posted the information about the freed mink as soon as possible early Tuesday “to notify our communities what was going on,” Riggenbach told USA TODAY. “So they could start making informed decisions and understand what had taken place.”
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He warned local farmers and residents about the danger posed to the area by the animals, which were being raised for fur at the farm located in northwest Ohio about 35 miles east of Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Are mink dangerous?
Mink, which resemble ferrets and weasels, are not considered dangerous wild animals, the Ohio Department of Agriculture said. However, the department advises people in the area to keep a close eye on backyard poultry and livestock.
In the wild, mink eat everything from frogs and fish to mice and rabbits. Owners of pets and livestock should be aware, the sheriff’s office release said. “Minks are carnivorous mammals that stick to a diet consisting of fresh kills,” the release read.
“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.”
How do you capture thousands of mink?
The sheriff’s office suggested local, licensed trappers who could assist residents in capturing mink if needed. Officers also contacted the state transportation department after reports of drivers hitting the animals on a road near the farm.
“We wanted to contact ODOT to make them aware and let them come out and just assess what the roadway was looking like and if there was any steps the felt were appropriate to deal with the animals being killed on the roadway,” Riggenbach said.
Also assisting in the investigation: the Ohio State Patrol, Paulding County (Ohio) Sheriff’s Office, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, and Ohio Emergency Management Agency.
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Lion Farms USA did not respond to phone calls from USA TODAY.
Who might release mink from farms?
Animal rights activists have released mink from mink farms. The Animal Liberation Front, an animal rights group, has claimed that on Nov. 8 a member released 1,000 minks from a fur facility in Massillon, Ohio, which is about three hours east of Lion Farms, The Cincinnati Enquirer, part of the USA TODAY Network, reported.
Authorities told the Enquirer they have been checking in with nearby fur facilities since that claim was posted but so far no area farms have reported missing mink.
The Animal Liberation Front did claim to have freed 150-200 mink in a September 2013 raid at a mink farm in Van Wert County, the Van Wert (Ohio) Times Bulletin reported Tuesday.
COVID and mink
During the height of the coronavirus pandemic, there were concerns of coronavirus infections on mink farms in the U.S. Denmark killed all the millions of mink in the country’s mink industry – they are raised for fur – after the virus spread from workers to minks and back to humans. (The Danish government had planned to end the industry in 2024 but accelerated the plan due to the pandemic.)
At the time, the Ohio Department of Agriculture said there had been no virus outbreaks in mink in the state, reported The Columbus Dispatch, part of the USA TODAY Network. It was unclear at the time how many mink farms existed in Ohio because the state agency does not regulate or track the farms.
In Michigan, two mink farm employees, along with a taxidermist and his wife, who contracted COVID-19 in 2021 were likely the first U.S. cases of animal-to-human COVID “spillover,” The Detroit Free Press, also part of the USA TODAY Network, reported earlier this year.
Contributing: Victoria Moorwood, The Cincinnati Enquirer.
Follow Mike Snider on Twitter: @mikesnider.
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