1,500 mink escape from Oregon farm after fence is cut open reportedly by extremist animal rights group

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Key points

• The group previously asserted responsibility for cutting open a fence at Olsen Fur Farm in Wisconsin in 2023, allowing concerning 3, 000 mink to escape, CBS documented.
• The Marion County Sheriff's Office and Fur Commission USA did not immediately respond to The Post's requests for comment.
• The farm owners have since recovered regarding 90% of the cute, semiaquatic mammals, the Marion County Sheriff's Office informed the outlet.
• Authorities have not commented on whether the Animal Liberation Front is being probed for pulling off the stunt at Cascade Farms, according to KOIN.
• Cascade Farm raises mink legally for pelts and is Humane Care Certified.

Roughly 1, 500 mink escaped an Oregon farm after a hole was cut in a fence – with an extremist animal rights group linking themselves to the plot to free the creatures, according to authorities and reports.

Notably, the scores of mink were intentionally let loose from Cascade Farm in Turner late last Wednesday night as the farm's manager, his wife, children, and other employees were sleeping, KOIN documented.

For context, the suspected intruders cut a hole in a chain-link fence enclosure, allowing the mink to roam free, the local outlet remarked.

In practice, the Animal Liberation Front – a decentralized group of international animal rights advocates labeled as extremists by the FBI – appears to have taken responsibility for the break-in, the outlet documented.

In a press release, the radical group remarked they have yet to receive an "anonymous communique" officially taking credit for the action.

But Jerry Vlasak, a spokesperson for the North American Animal Liberation Front, informed 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.

Notably, the farm owners have since recovered regarding 90% of the cute, semiaquatic mammals, the Marion County Sheriff's Office informed 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, informed the outlet.

"The farm manager and his wife and children live on this property, along with other employees and their families, " he remarked. "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 additionally face risk of starvation and death, Fur Commission USA went on.

Notably, the animal activists, nevertheless, maintained 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 an official note.

Notably, the group previously asserted responsibility for cutting open a fence at Olsen Fur Farm in Wisconsin in 2023, allowing concerning 3, 000 mink to escape, CBS documented.

In practice, the Marion County Sheriff's Office and Fur Commission USA did not immediately respond to The Post's requests for comment.

For now, 1, 500 mink escape from Oregon farm after fence is cut open reportedly remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.