CHEEKY MINKS

Around 5,000 mink are roaming Northern Ireland, having been broken out of a farm which breeds them for fur. In the early hours of Sunday (26th), animal rights activists cut the wires of cages containing 32,000 animals, then cut the fences and opened the gates of Anderson’s farm, providing them with an escape route out into the woods of County Donegal. While over 100 have been recaptured, groups of mink have been spotted standing, dazzled by headlights, in the middle of roads.

This farm normally holds 52,000 mink in its caged pens. Mink belong to the weasel family and are highly prized for their soft, glossy fur.

Animal-rights groups in Ireland have stated they had nothing to do with it, although they did praise the action. “I commend whoever risked their freedom to do this as these animals have a horrendous life,” said a spokesperson for Ireland’s Alliance for Animal Rights.

* See www.afarireland.org