Sometime the night of August 1st or the early morning of August 2nd, animal rights activists released 3,000 mink from a fur farm near the Spanish city of Teruel.
The Guardian (London) reported that the mink are an American variety not native to Spain and officials were concerned that the mink might displace local native species. Although Spain is generally too dry to allow the mink to survive very long, local officials told The Guardian that mink who escaped from a farm a decade earlier had set up a small colon on the banks of a nearby river.
Even local ecologists who oppose mink farming were appalled at the action. Teo Oberhuber of Ecologists in Action told The Guardian, “Despite the terrible conditions in which they are kept and the shameful systems employed to kill them, setting the animals free into the wild is an act of gross irresponsibility.
A few weeks later in Holland, activists freed almost 17,000 mink from a farm in Valkenswaard. As of August 24, about 1,500 mink had been recaptured and about 200 ofthe animals had been killed, mostly after being struck by automobiles.
Sources:
Mink ‘liberation’ sparks mass hunt. Ananova, August 24, 2001.
Fur flies as 3,000 mink freed in raid. Giles Tremlett, The Guardian (London), August 2, 2001.