Approximately 1,500 minks made a daring escape from an Oregon farm when a fence was deliberately breached—an act that authorities and reports attribute to an extremist animal rights group claiming involvement in this dramatic release.
This well-orchestrated liberation occurred at Cascade Farm in Turner, late into the night last Wednesday, while the manager, his family, and farm employees were asleep, as reported by KOIN.
A hole had been sliced into the chain-link fence, a move that gave the minks unprecedented freedom to wander beyond their enclosures, according to local news accounts.
The Animal Liberation Front, a group of international animal activists considered extremist by the FBI, is believed to be behind the break-in, as noted by the local outlet.
Although the radical group has released a statement regarding the incident, they noted they have not yet received an “anonymous communique” that would officially claim responsibility for the operation.
But Jerry Vlasak, a spokesperson for the North American Animal Liberation Front, told the outlet that the mink escape plot was consistent with their group’s actions and that communiques from activists claiming responsibility are not always sent.
The farm owners have since recovered about 90% of the cute, semiaquatic mammals, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office told the outlet.
“This wasn’t activism. It was a criminal act against a legally operated, certified farm,” Challis Hobbs, Executive Director of Fur Commission USA, an organization that represents mink farmers including Cascade Farm, told the outlet.
“The farm manager and his wife and children live on this property, along with other employees and their families,” he said. “It’s deeply unsettling to have people cut through a fence in the middle of the night with children sleeping just steps away.”
Cascade Farm raises mink legally for pelts and is Humane Care Certified. Any of the mink that aren’t recovered within 24 to 48 hours also face risk of starvation and death, Fur Commission USA added.
The animal activists, however, claimed the mink would be subjected to “egregiously cruel and violent” treatment in captivity.
“The animals liberated last night have a fighting chance at life; they faced a 100 percent death rate if they stayed on the farm,” the Animal Liberation Front wrote in a statement.
The group previously claimed responsibility for cutting open a fence at Olsen Fur Farm in Wisconsin in 2023, allowing about 3,000 mink to escape, CBS reported.
Authorities have not commented on whether the Animal Liberation Front is being probed for pulling off the stunt at Cascade Farms, according to KOIN.
The Marion County Sheriff’s Office and Fur Commission USA did not immediately respond to The Post’s requests for comment.