Hundreds of mink have escaped

Ayla

Has anybody considered the cruelty to the mink here? These animals have been cage-born & cage-reared and so have *no idea* how to exist in the real world. That's part of the reason why they're getting run over on the roads...they're so scared when they see a car coming & have no survival instincts anymore.

implausible

Ayla wrote: »

Has anybody considered the cruelty to the mink here? These animals have been cage-born & cage-reared and so have *no idea* how to exist in the real world.

Another reason why the people who did this are idiots.

killerbeg

Ayla wrote: »

Has anybody considered the cruelty to the mink here?

I think the perpetrators of this live in that wonderful land called 'the moral high ground' and the view from there is very skewed. When you live there everything you do is right and brave. Consequences...............they're for the unenlightened.

jmayo

Vinegar Hill wrote: »

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.

Just spotted this thread and have to add that the idiots who released these animals are complete muppets as pointed out by other posters.

These animals are not native to our country.
I have see the damage they do both to farmed animals and our native species.

Some gob***es think they are doing the mink a favour when in fact they aren't really and in the process they are wrecking whole ecosystems.

It would be akin to releasing the big cats from Fota wildlife park in Cork.

At the moment we don't know for sure who released them and I have suspicions it may not always be the animal rights lobby.
But whoever they were they should get very sever fines if they are caught.

oldscoil

jmayo wrote: »

At the moment we don't know for sure who released them and I have suspicions it may not always be the animal rights lobby.
But whoever they were they should get very sever fines if they are caught.

Hi Folks.

I only came across this thread cos I'm on my way to the beautiful North West for the weekend.

This is a terrible act. However I have "feeling" its not animal rights activists.... There are other aspects to be taken into consideration...

A disgruntled ex-employee... etc etc
The Mink trade is struggling for ethical and economical reasons.... etc etc
Little fcukin thugs (Irelands full of the little basterds...in case ya hadn't noticed )

I think activists are too easy a target....

But hopefully we will find out within the next few weeks and the fcukers responsible will be publicaly whipped.

Cruel...yes I know...but hey!??!

Iamcool

I'm glad the mink escaped! They escaped from a life of pure misery with an excrutiating painful death!

implausible

^^^

Troll. With 'excrutiating' spelling to boot.

Noreen1

Iamcool wrote: »

I'm glad the mink escaped! They escaped from a life of pure misery with an excrutiating painful death!

Eh! They didn't "escape". They were released by some fool, with no thought for the consequences of their actions.

I don't approve of fur farming. I don't believe any animal should spend their entire life locked up.

But, I have enough common sense to realise that many of the mink who were released will die "excruciating" deaths.

Some will die from hunger, others will be attacked by wild mink, who are defending their territories. If these unfortunate animals are lucky, the wild mink will kill them relatively quickly.

If not, (and it will happen to some of them) - they will end up badly mauled, and probably drag themselves into a corner somewhere to die slow "excruciating" deaths, from a combination of their injuries and hunger, since their already limited hunting capacity will be even more severely curtailed.

But do feel free to feel "glad" that they "escaped"!

The next "cruelty" issue that you might find interesting, is the effect on the local ecosystem.

You don't seem to be aware of the phrase "Balance of Nature".

Broadly speaking, it works like this.
There are predators, and prey. Generally, nature maintains a balance. Predators cannot overbalance the prey, or they die of hunger.

Sometimes, some "cruel":rolleyes: farmers actually shoot some foxes, to maintain the balance. Most of them do so when there are too many foxes in the immediate area, who would otherwise end up dying of malnutrition.
Most farmers also dislike killing any animal - but accept that sometimes a quick death is preferable to a slow excruciating one for the animal concerned.

Now, consider the effect of releasing several hundred predators into the local ecosystem - instant "Too many predators, not enough prey".

We will see indigenous predators facing a severe food shortage. That includes otters, who compete with the mink for fish stocks. Otters are already severely depleted as a species....... but they should, of course, be condemned to die of hunger, because someone's sensibilities are offended by fur farming.:rolleyes: Foxes will also be affected.

We will see serious damage to fish stocks, especially salmon. Local fishermen have, in some cases, spent tens of thousands of Euro to re-stock rivers..... and those tens of thousands were intended as an investment, to encourage tourism, and to safeguard a local industry.

All this, before we even begin to look at the prey!
Have you ever seen a mink attack chickens? It can get pretty gory....
I've also had the misfortune to find a newborn lamb, (not mine, it belonged to a neighbour)savaged while the sheep was giving birth. It doesn't look pretty.......

I thought about apologising for the length of this post, but I'm not going to.
If it makes one "eco-warrior" think about how ecosystems really work, then it may just prevent another example of real cruelty, like this one.

Noreen

Cicero

baldbear wrote: »

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.

Funny, I thought of this straight away too..think it was in the news over the summer...there's something very special about hearing a corncrake....it's a sign of hope in the world of wildlife as a lot of effort and agreement/co-operation with farmers etc has to happen in order to make it happen...

Firblog

oldscoil wrote: »

Hi Folks.

This is a terrible act. However I have "feeling" its not animal rights activists.... There are other aspects to be taken into consideration...

A disgruntled ex-employee... etc etc
The Mink trade is struggling for ethical and economical reasons.... etc etc
Little fcukin thugs (Irelands full of the little basterds...in case ya hadn't noticed )

I think activists are too easy a target....

But hopefully we will find out within the next few weeks and the fcukers responsible will be publicaly whipped.

Cruel...yes I know...but hey!??!

FYI Your "feeling" is way out. It was "animal rights activists"

1. The culprits were seen cutting the fencing by an employee who lives on site, who's worked there for a few years and he didn't recognise any of them.
2. The mink trade is actually doing quiet nicely economically, seemingly eastern european and chinese people like wearing fur, and are prepared to pay for it.
3. They tried to do the same a week later @ the mink farm in Glenties but thought better of it when alarms and lights went on alerting the owner (with shotgun) Don't think this is typical of "little thugs", more like the behaviour of animal activists who've signed on an collected their money for the week an can afford to travel again....

Also in reply to the poster who believes that the trade is cruel and that the mink have a painful death, well they are caged yes, but there are less of them held per square metre than battery hens, or farmed salmon, they are well cared for as a healthier mink has a better pelt than a sick unhealthy one. Also the mink are gassed with carbon monoxide, which is not a painful or cruel way to kill them. (Chickens are hung upside down, on a coveyor belt and are dipped into water with a current going thru it to knock them out, then the belt carries them to a blade at neck height, which chops their heads of, Salmon are just pulled from the water and basically suffocate)

It seems that most people have a problem with mink farming is that it's done for the skin and the rest of the animal is thrown away. I'm of the opinion that killing an animal for skin/meat/roe etc is all the same, the thing is just as dead no matter what it's killed for - what should matter is that they are well treated while alive.

210

Very well put Noreen1.

Firblog

Ban him... going waaaay off topic..

A.Partridge

Mmmmm...I wonder if Golden Eagles feed on mink?

Firblog

I don't believe so, but I think they are quiet partial to the odd Partridge..

muffler

"Hundreds of mink have escaped"

^ ^ Thats the topic folks so can we please stick to that please.

Thanks.

danniemcq

i'd say that weather woulda blown some of them outta the county so not our problem anymore!

Dan_Solo

If mink could potentially destroy our island's entire ecosystem (which I find difficult to believe given that animals similar to mink were ubiquitous in Europe not so long ago) why were they being farmed in the first place?

muffler

Dan_Solo wrote: »

If mink could potentially destroy our island's entire ecosystem (which I find difficult to believe given that animals similar to mink were ubiquitous in Europe not so long ago) why were they being farmed in the first place?

Off topic. Infraction given.

Dan_Solo

Jesus, 99% of this thread is off topic in that case.
The title is "Hundreds of mink have escaped". Plenty have posted here saying that it will wreck Donegal's ecosystem (even the whole island's:eek:), but saying it won't is off-topic?

muffler

Dan_Solo wrote: »

Jesus, 99% of this thread is off topic in that case.
The title is "Hundreds of mink have escaped". Plenty have posted here saying that it will wreck Donegal's ecosystem (even the whole island's:eek:), but saying it won't is off-topic?

With an attitude like that I dont hold out much hope for you on Boards.ie. You have a week off now from this forum so please use the time wisely and read the forum charter and Boards.ie rules which btw are the rules you agreed to when you signed up.

muffler

Right I have done a bit of clean up of this thread. I have asked twice for people to stay on topic but it appears to have fallen on deaf ears (of several posters)

You all know the topic so please stick to it. Should any of you feel the need to discuss anything else (cruelty to mink or the likes for example) then please do so in the Animal & Pet issues forum

Graces7

muffler wrote: »

Right I have done a bit of clean up of this thread. I have asked twice for people to stay on topic but it appears to have fallen on deaf ears (of several posters)

You all know the topic so please stick to it. Should any of you feel the need to discuss anything else (cruelty to mink or the likes for example) then please do so in the Animal & Pet issues forum

BUT with all due respect, you have allowed one side to speak out and suppressed replies to those erroneous ideas.Referring to firblog's post which is appallingly wrong and totally off topic by the standards you have imposed now.

And you have erased ALL MY POSTS.

muffler

Graces7 wrote: »

BUT with all due respect, you have allowed one side to speak out and suppressed replies to those erroneous ideas.Referring to firblog's post which is appallingly wrong and totally off topic by the standards you have imposed now.

And you have erased ALL MY POSTS.

If you hadn't noticed ALL off topic posts have been removed including yours and Firblog's.

Do not to derail this thread by questioning my impartiality or my decisions. There is a process to follow if you would kindly take the time to read the forum charter but disputing a mod's decision on thread is not acceptable nor is it acceptable to derail the thread.

To maintain consistency you too can have a week off.


.

FarmerGreen

<snip>

homer simpson

FarmerGreen wrote: »

<snip>

7 day ban given for going off topic, You were warned earlier in the thread, any further off topic posts will receive the same treatment!

killerbeg

Has anybody encountered any of the escaped mink lately?

Some12

Sounds like its hunting time in Donegal!

I live by a river and the only time I've grabbed my rifle to shoot an animal (Excluding rats and a crow attacking a lamb) was when a mink ran through my yard.

They can be vicious!

kittywong16

have been catching mink for years on my land which have killed hens ducks, and there isnt a fish to be seen in river. however last week i caught 2 that were practically tame , 1 white 1 black, i wonder are these some of the mink released in donegal bearing in mind that im in limerick

sligopark

Donegal to Limerick? Mink I doubt it really - was wondering what ever came of this mink 'escape' myself - despite all the horror stories there wasn't much word of them since - perhaps as they were farmed they had no survival skills and those that did survive were killed off with the cold spell (despite their furry coats) ?

Firblog

kittywong16 wrote: »

have been catching mink for years on my land which have killed hens ducks, and there isnt a fish to be seen in river. however last week i caught 2 that were practically tame , 1 white 1 black, i wonder are these some of the mink released in donegal bearing in mind that im in limerick

The mink from that farm were neither black or white in colour. All the ones they rear are brown in colour.