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> Meanwhile, reports state that many of the animals who fled were killed shortly after being found, while so many minks died crossing a nearby road that a plow

> Meanwhile, reports state that many of the animals who fled were killed shortly after being found, while so many minks died crossing a nearby road that a plow was enlisted to help remove the carcasses, WFMZ reported. What an awful outcome. Obviously I have no love to share for the fur industry, but I can't imagine how the vandals thought this would ultimately end up saving animal lives.

cesaref 4y ago
If I were to guess, i'd suggest their view would be if a single animal survived, that's one more than would make it if left in the cages.
- SamBam 4y ago
  From a purely ethical standpoint, that's not bad logic. It's like the story of the kid throwing the starfish back into the sea, saying "It matters to that one." Of course, whether it was well-thought-out in regards to the local ecosystem is a different matter entirely.
  - mizzack 4y ago
    It's also shortsighted and inconsistent as it disregards the countless prey animals that will be taken by introducing 10,000 predators into a new ecosystem.
    - SamBam 4y ago
      Most ecosystems actually need more predators, not fewer. One of the negative effects humans have on ecosystems is killing predators like wolves, which wrecks the rest of the ecosystem. But again, as I said above the effects of these predators on this ecosystem is not necessary someone that was well-thought-out by these people.
  - throwaway4aday 4y ago
    How do you weigh death by being partially crushed under the wheel of a car against death by carbon monoxide poisoning?
LeifCarrotson 4y ago
This will probably only save animal lives in the distant future, when farms like this are no longer allowed to operate. It's one thing to hold quiet animosity for the fur industry operating silently and invisibly. But this is now front page news in sleepy northwest Ohio, people from Findlay (where I've done some consulting) to Fort Wayne are now aware there's a newly built mink fur farm in their backyards. And even after the news fades, when your koi pond is suddenly empty, when you hear a rabbit scream at night, when you see a dead squirrel in your yard with its face chewed off, or when you just see an unusual white animal swimming in a pond, residents will think "Oh hey, that's probably one of those mink that were liberated from the farm in Van Wert." That kind of public opinion will eventually get the farm shut down. I don't think the ALF/the vandals were confused into believing that a likely outcome was 40,000 people adopting those minks to live happy, long lives as family pets. But every minute that farm is operating, 40,000 mink are suffering in small cages: https://www.farmtransparency.org/facilities/zx0hb-lion-farms-usa-mink-farm https://www.farmtransparency.org/facilities/zx0hb-lion-farms... That farm might still continue to operate for another 50 years or more, with each of 20,000 breeding pairs of mink having 8 kits per year. If 10,000 dead today is enough to make it unprofitable and shut down, it's easy to justify sacrificing 10,000 mink today for the sake of 8 MILLION mink over the next 50 years.

cesaref 4y ago

If I were to guess, i'd suggest their view would be if a single animal survived, that's one more than would make it if left in the cages.

SamBam 4y ago
From a purely ethical standpoint, that's not bad logic. It's like the story of the kid throwing the starfish back into the sea, saying "It matters to that one." Of course, whether it was well-thought-out in regards to the local ecosystem is a different matter entirely.
- mizzack 4y ago
  It's also shortsighted and inconsistent as it disregards the countless prey animals that will be taken by introducing 10,000 predators into a new ecosystem.
  - SamBam 4y ago
    Most ecosystems actually need more predators, not fewer. One of the negative effects humans have on ecosystems is killing predators like wolves, which wrecks the rest of the ecosystem. But again, as I said above the effects of these predators on this ecosystem is not necessary someone that was well-thought-out by these people.
- throwaway4aday 4y ago
  How do you weigh death by being partially crushed under the wheel of a car against death by carbon monoxide poisoning?

LeifCarrotson 4y ago

This will probably only save animal lives in the distant future, when farms like this are no longer allowed to operate. It's one thing to hold quiet animosity for the fur industry operating silently and invisibly. But this is now front page news in sleepy northwest Ohio, people from Findlay (where I've done some consulting) to Fort Wayne are now aware there's a newly built mink fur farm in their backyards. And even after the news fades, when your koi pond is suddenly empty, when you hear a rabbit scream at night, when you see a dead squirrel in your yard with its face chewed off, or when you just see an unusual white animal swimming in a pond, residents will think "Oh hey, that's probably one of those mink that were liberated from the farm in Van Wert." That kind of public opinion will eventually get the farm shut down. I don't think the ALF/the vandals were confused into believing that a likely outcome was 40,000 people adopting those minks to live happy, long lives as family pets. But every minute that farm is operating, 40,000 mink are suffering in small cages: https://www.farmtransparency.org/facilities/zx0hb-lion-farms-usa-mink-farm https://www.farmtransparency.org/facilities/zx0hb-lion-farms... That farm might still continue to operate for another 50 years or more, with each of 20,000 breeding pairs of mink having 8 kits per year. If 10,000 dead today is enough to make it unprofitable and shut down, it's easy to justify sacrificing 10,000 mink today for the sake of 8 MILLION mink over the next 50 years.