Hundreds of 'biting' mink let loose from Spanish fur farm

(April 13, 2004)

If MADRID (AFP) - Police and health officials were hunting for hundreds of mink that escaped from a fur farm in northwest Spain at the weekend after being purportedly set free by an animal rights group.

"These animals are very dangerous and can inflict painful bites when cornered," said Jesus Manuel Raso, environmental advisor to the mayor of Carral, in Spain's Galicia region where the mink were set free.

According to Raso, 6,500 mink escaped from a fur farm through holes bored into the side of the farm's barn walls. Some 800 mink were still on the loose, while 500 have been found dead.

Sources close to the investigation said a group known as the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) was suspected of freeing the furry mammals whose pelts are much sought after for making expensive fur coats.

Graffiti saying "For a life of liberty," and signed by the organisation was found scrawled on a barn wall at the mink ranch.

While the ALF could not be reached for comment, the group is known for its radical actions inspired by the teachings of Peter Singer, an Australian philosopher and author of 'Animal Liberation,' one of the bibles of the animal rights movement.