Hundreds of mink have escaped

Vinegar Hill

Locals and farmers are asked to be on the lookout for the mink.

Owner of the mink farm, Connie Anderson, said those responsible for letting the animals escape where ‘animal terrorists’

http://www.highlandradio.com/2010/09/28/hundreds-of-minks-escape-in-ardara/

Disgraceful carry on. These are dangerous animals and they were apparently released from their cages on the farm. Mink are dangerous to farm animals and salmon. I would hope whoever did this is caught. They have been freed in the Ardara area. I have seen reports that multiple have been killed by cars so far.

.17hmr

The sad thing is that these people only see poor little mink,what they dont see is the devastation that they leave in thir wake and they will take and kill every thing that they can get,but sure who cares because the poor little furry things are free muppits:mad:


i know i cant spell.

Noreen1

Absolutely disgraceful! Apparently someone cut the cages and left the gate open.
If these so-called "animal lovers" saw the devastation mink can cause, they might think twice before letting the little brutes loose to attack and slaughter other defenceless animals.

If whoever let those mink loose is ever caught, I hope the judge finds some very gory footage of minks killing chickens or new-born lambs. It might just educate some of these "animal rights activists":rolleyes: that these cute, furry little darlings are actually very ruthless killing machines.

And before anyone jumps in to suggest I condone cruelty to animals - I don't! I just don't condone cruelty to chickens, young lambs etc. so that mink, who are not indigenous to Ireland, anyway - can roam free. (Those that aren't killed on roads, or by other mink, etc., since being cage-bred, many will not have sufficient survival skills to adapt to living in the wild.)

Noreen

mk2

210

Regardless of our individual views on the mink and fur farming trade this is clearly an act of absolute stupidity. Shame on whoever is responsible.

M three

eh has anyone thought that someone working at this mink or should i say fur farm f'ed up and left a gate / cage / door open??

Ah but no, it must have been those goddam animals terrorists..........jees.......

TippFan77

I agree that releasing mink like this is madness, but fur farming is cruel beyond belief and thankfully it's being phased out completely thanks to the Green Party.

The people who introduced these creatures to Ireland have a lot to answer for. In the past, mink that escaped without any outside "help" caused devastation in the countryside. They just don't belong in Ireland and shouldn't be here, full stop.

.17hmr

TippFan77 wrote: »

I agree that releasing mink like this is madness, but fur farming is cruel beyond belief and thankfully it's being phased out completely thanks to the Green Party.

The people who introduced these creatures to Ireland have a lot to answer for. In the past, mink that escaped without any outside "help" caused devastation in the countryside. They just don't belong in Ireland and shouldn't be here, full stop.

the green party hmmm your entitled to your view .i sure hope they dont land at my door for they just might get run over by a jeep ,it would be a accident like:D

biloatty

I can't get over how irresponsible an act this was. The mink weren't released by accident or by a farm-worked forgetting to close the gate! The gates were opened and wires around the farm were cut to allow the mink out.

I can't even imagine the devastation it is going to cause for local widlife! It's an environmental disaster.

I totally agree that those responsible should be caught and prosecuted for the ecological nightmare they have released on the area. Fur-farming is being phased out already, there is no need to take matters into your own hands with no regard for the impact locally.

So irresponsible!

Peace

I actually think its funny that in some misguided act of kindness to animals these eco morons have actually done untold damage to the local wildlife.

I would imagine the scene for any small animals int he area is something akin to a wildlife version of Snakes on a Plane. Except the snakes are the mink, the plane isn't actually going to land, and Samuel L. ain't gonna save the day.

baldbear

Jaysus the people who let these vermin out havn't a clue.
Recently the government spent €400k on reintroducing six corncrakes and Donegal has one of the best popultaions of Corncrakes in the country.

These minks will destroy the poor auld corncrake! I hope trappers get all these dasterdly minks.

Vinegar Hill

ANIMAL liberation 'terrorists' are being blamed for the release of thousands of farmed mink into the wild.

Desperate efforts were under way yesterday to recapture up to 5,000 mink, which dispersed into the surrounding countryside following a weekend break-in at a farm near Ardara in south-west Donegal.

Raiders used wire cutters to access the remote farm and open more than 1,000 cages containing roughly 5,000 mink.

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/animal-terrorists-blamed-for-release-of-5000-farmed-mink-2357111.html

The number is in the thousands. And there was a break in at the farm. I hope these people are caught.

killerbeg

TippFan77 wrote: »

I agree that releasing mink like this is madness, but fur farming is cruel beyond belief and thankfully it's being phased out completely thanks to the Green Party.

Nice have it both ways, I guess, condemning and justifying a criminal act in the same breath. I find it hard to consider fur farming as reprehensible as this when one considers how animals and fish are treated generally (not many happy calves in the abbatoir, not many happy chickens in poultry farms) but the larger point I think is the mentality of people who consider this type of thing some kind of righteous political activism. I appreciate that each individual has a right to express their political and social beliefs but when I look at how the poor, the sick, the elderly and the weak in this country are mistreated by their fellow man I can't help thinking that some people's priorities are misguided to the point of ignorance. Maybe next time they might release the lions from Dublin Zoo into the Dail chambers............now that I could understand.

Noreen1

killerbeg wrote: »

I appreciate that each individual has a right to express their political and social beliefs but when I look at how the poor, the sick, the elderly and the weak in this country are mistreated by their fellow man I can't help thinking that some people's priorities are misguided to the point of ignorance. Maybe next time they might release the lions from Dublin Zoo into the Dail chambers............now that I could understand.

:D

Noreen

(Provided no-one actually tries this, of course!)

topper75

No matter how hard the trappers work - 100% recapture is nigh on impossible.

I'm not from Donegal but, as a wildlife enthusiast, I see this as no less than a national emergency. I hope our Dublin government treat it as such.

petergfiffin

http://www.limerickpost.ie/index.php/navigation-mainmenu-30/local-news/2269-war-waged-on-killer-mink.html

This is what lies in store for the wildlife in Donegal

Firblog

TippFan77 wrote: »

I agree that releasing mink like this is madness, but fur farming is cruel beyond belief and thankfully it's being phased out completely thanks to the Green Party.

Well to put my cards on the table, I actually worked on that farm for 2 weeks once, and didn't see anything particularly cruel going on. I believe that the minks in these farms are much better looked after than say battery hens or farmed salmon, because if the animal is not healthy the fur will reflect this, and they don't get paid for scraggly pelts. (whereas deformed hens & salmon get made into pies...:( )

And as far as the Green Party is concerned (not indigenous to ireland either and soon too to be eradicated here), the only reason that they included the outlawing of mink farms in the program for government was because the nutty wing of the party threatened to vote down NAMA unless that was included.... bet we're all wishing it had been the other way about now...

Firblog

muffler

Thanks guys. Can we just stay on the topic of minks here please and leave any references to vermin politicians for another debate.

deman

M three wrote: »

eh has anyone thought that someone working at this mink or should i say fur farm f'ed up and left a gate / cage / door open??

Ah but no, it must have been those goddam animals terrorists..........jees.......

I would laugh at this statement but I think you're being serious.

They are not cows that are closed in to a field or yard with a gate. It would take one helluva cage to put 5000 minks into.

Durnish

I think there is a U-tube video of the mink farm at Ardara, or one very nearby. Gassing Mink, I think it's called. The sheds look like old railway carriages.

Ave Sodalis

petergfiffin wrote: »

http://www.limerickpost.ie/index.php/navigation-mainmenu-30/local-news/2269-war-waged-on-killer-mink.html

This is what lies in store for the wildlife in Donegal

Horses? I don't think a mink could kill a horse to be honest, nor a large dog but then again, I could be wrong.

Talk about an immature, irresponsible act though! It's going to cause some devestation

R.D. aka MR.D

Common sense is lacking somewhere in the animal rights movement.

I think actions like this show a profound misunderstanding of the welfare of wildlife in particular.

These 'protesters' have looked at the small picture and ignored the further repercussions of their actions. Another set of actions could have been undertaken without the needless threat against wildlife. So why choose such an ill informed one?

I would love to hear some one defend it.

It is another example of people ignoring a rural way life to suit their own agenda without respecting what rural life is about.

(I'm 100% against any kind of fur farming btw)

killerbeg

As I understand it these were 'American Mink' so they should be easy enough to round up, they'll be wandering around the Castle in Donegal wearing bermuda shorts and taking photographs of each other:)

killerbeg

Two were just captured trying to buy fresh salmon in Supervalue using US dollars.

Peace

Several were just apprehended in McDonalds. They were in duiguised as regular people but stood out because they ordered Big Macs for breakfast....

BOOM

theblueirish

one of these ran across the road at dalys in lifford last night, doesnt take the wee feckers long

Firblog

Seems that the Coalition to Aboloish the Fur Trade thinks that it is very acceptable to have mink introduced in large numbers to the Irish habitat

http://www.donegaldemocrat.ie/donegalnews/Calls-for-calm-on-escaped.6564641.jp

and that people are just being silly; seemingly they're members of the otter family and sure aren't they cuddly....

Durnish

An article about this made it into the Guardian yesterday.

Peace

Firblog wrote: »

Seems that the Coalition to Aboloish the Fur Trade thinks that it is very acceptable to have mink introduced in large numbers to the Irish habitat

http://www.donegaldemocrat.ie/donegalnews/Calls-for-calm-on-escaped.6564641.jp

and that people are just being silly; seemingly they're members of the otter family and sure aren't they cuddly....

They sure do have nice fur. Anyone know where i could get a wastcoat made out of mink fur?

Firblog

Peace wrote: »

They sure do have nice fur. Anyone know where i could get a wastcoat made out of mink fur?

ummm... a watscoat?

killerbeg

Firblog wrote: »

ummm... a watscoat?

I think you mean a 'twatscoat'