Of course, you checked first that you weren't releasing American mink into the wild. You know, the ones that are out-competing the native European species. And of course you've made sure that the mink you've liberated won't cause ecological havoc now that they're out...

Of course you did.

By jove, I think you guys certainly out-did the Mexican animal liberationists who managed to liberate a whole chicken! Nice one. Now, comrades, on to the revolution where man and beast can stand as equals...

These aggressive predators which you so stupidly "released" will decimate the local wildlife so congratulations on sentencing thousands of local animals to death, prey and rival predators alike.

Well done, by releasing these mink, rather than helping preserve nature, you have succeeded in creating a situation that will actually be harmful to the local ecosystem.

Apart from the sudden influx of omnivorous and vicious mink causing harm to local populations of other voles, mice, birds and reptiles, the vast majority of farmed mink are American, not European mink and have already successfully forced out the large majority of European mink.

For the benefit of animals and the ecosystem, the correct response would have been to either put the farmed mink out of their misery humanely, or ship them back to the united states.

When will Animal Rights activists learn that these actions infringe more animal rights than they preserve? Namely, the right for an already battered ecosystem to continue to exist without further human interference.

Yours,

- An Angry Ecologist

You're talking to a MAGAZINE that published the anonymous communique that was even TRANSLATED. Who the hell are you talking to??

Are your opinions based fur farming rumours? An industry responsible for trapping from the wild making entire species of wild animals unbalanced because of the capitalist requirement of "supply and demand" for the upper class.

Animals liberated from fur farms are RETURNED to the wild, if you are a rep for the fur industry, please stop causing the problems and then blaming it on others, its an old story!

..will do far less damage to the environment than a bunch of humans.

Animals and humans, before we had borders, etc have a funny habit of managing their own environments, sometimes they even manage to do it without defra or farmers going round "culling" them, throughout history animals have migrated to new areas and sometimes some species take over from another species, it's life!

as much as i agree with the elimination of the fur trade, what the hell do you think you are doing?!!!

since you are clearly a big believer in animal rights i assume that you are a vegetarian, therefore may i remind you that some animals actually eat meat, i,e, eachother... its not the fucking animals of farthing wood out there.

this action that you so shortsightedly applaud has probably had a massive negative impact on the surrounding environment as mink are voracious carnivores and predate mainly on small mammals, something you people would know if looked past the cute and fluffy and actually did some research.

releasing 2000 mink into the local ecosystem will not only take food from populations of larger carnivores such as foxes and birds of prey, but create a glut of insects and other small creatures that will destabalise the entire ecosystem.

well fucking done idiots.

animal rights people are vegan not vegetarian! you idiot!

> "something you people would know if looked past the cute and fluffy and actually did some research."

Ok, I'm going to do you a favour here. You're basically making yourself sound like a complete idiot, to more people than you think I imagine.

Do you think men accepted feminism because women have breasts? Or that we accepted non-whites because black was a cool colour? Didn't think so - as we all know that human animals, like non-humans are individuals, and feel pain and suffering, thus they should be granted rights. Not rights based on their appearance (a symbol of fascism), interesting you consider the granting of rights to be based on this though, always tell you something.

So are you seriously brain-washed into believing that this is the first rights movement based on "wow they're cute and fluffy", instead of equality, freedom and self-liberation?
Ever heard of concept of being narrow-minded ( http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/narrow-minded)?

> "since you are clearly a big believer in animal rights i assume that you are a vegetarian"

First mistake; if somebody believes in animal rights & welfare - they are vegan.
If somebody believes in animal welfare, they are vegan, veggie or consume dead animals.

> "may i remind you that some animals actually eat meat, i,e, eachother... its not the fucking animals of farthing wood out there."

Wow, that's an intelligent response. Of course, because humans aren't the only species to imprison, breed, exploit and then murder living beings in slaughterhouses, needing further to cook the flesh to avoid any disease/infections. We just fit right in don't we?

Maybe you live in a cave, jump out of it and eat frogs, but your quite alone, very alone infact. Take away the breeding, take away the imprisonment, take away the slaughterhouses and what do we have? Reality. Humans aren't stupid enough (anymore) to be chasing around wild animals to make a meal. Especially when sabs are chasing them back, and humans aren't designed to hunt (do you see claws, do you see fangs?)

PS. I guess you are well aware that mink travel hundreds of miles every week, in order to re-balance previously unbalanced eco-systems? So much for the "local ecosystem" being destroyed, if you don't return the animals back to the wild, you'll continue to destroy the already unbalanced eco-system.

Nice try though with the trash-corp-talk, try waiting more than an hour next time to throw a few stupid comments on the article though next time?

Then you would get rid of the ecological imbalance...

I am not going to get into the arguement with you on either side but felt that it should be pointed out that German mink farms do not collect mink from the wild, they are bred on farms.

Therefore, releasing them is not returning them to the wild but introducing them to the wild.

They live in small crampped cages and do not have a good life. The best way to deal with it would be to euthanise them to stop their suffering. This would also have more long term economic down sides for the farmer. It is highly likely that those mink that have been released to the wild will either starve, consume indigenous populations of wildlife or be recaptured and incarcerated again by the farmers.

The question is do you want to damage the farmers and try and hit the economic viability of the mink trade or do you simply wish to release the animals and introduce a host of other problems for local wildlife populations?

But that doesn't explain why all the UK fur furms closed after having mink released and cages damaged time and time again?

Or why boar farms are closing after the 2nd or 3rd raid?

"There used to be 21 boar farmers, now we're down to about 4" - One of the last (Peter Gott)

Oi @narch! Anyone ever told you that anarchy means "without hierarchies"?

No prisons, no mass exploitation, no slaughtering of the innocent etc, etc.
So breeding animals in prisons and slaughtering them - is not anarchy.
Deal with anarchy, and stop trying to make it how you want it!
Let it be what it will obviously turn into - the liberation for all living individuals.

But I did go check google for accounts of mink releases in Germany in the past. I found one story supported with lots of photos and English language commentaries on "Spiegel" from last year when in 7,500 mink were released in the east of the state and then rounded up with the help of German soldiers.
You can see the whole photo collection here
 http://www.spiegel.de/fotostrecke/fotostrecke-25936-2.html#backToArticle=513840
or just one shot of a German lad in army uniform with a big net here
 http://www.spiegel.de/fotostrecke/fotostrecke-25936-2.html#backToArticle=513840
It's the kind of net which I as a kid used fish minnows out of Irish lakes with or I suspect my very famous and undoubedtly queer great great uncle used catch butterflies with. He got a knighthood for that. Not may I point out for being one of the once very fashionable Victorian lepidopterologists who in their spare time from writing dinky hymn tunes dedicated themselves to the capture, chloroforming and pinning of butterflies and moths on display boards in the hope of winning respect at the Academy - but for his work on dragonflies or winged creatures of the infra-order Anisoptera. They have four wings and quite a bit more bulky than a butterfly and put up quite a struggle in the net.

But they don't carry rabies.

Each time mink have been released into the wilds of Germany, the German authorities ever mindful to the hygiene and health of their populace have issued short guidelines which include advice on not touching mink, especially if they're hungry and thus more given to biting and a little mention of rabies. They never carry rabies. Which is very good news. Nor do moths or dragonflies. But the very factoid included in such German efficient public information belies a potentiality which itself illustrates a truth.

Mink can carry rabies & Mink bite.

Perhaps the animal liberation front could release other critters which do not carry rabies, are just as annoying, require as many soldiers to be relieved from active warmongering duties and look less cuddly with the intended purpose and suitably filtered threat - of persuading (allbeit under a duress approaching terrorist cohersion) the authorities to end mink farming.

= Release Waburg germs.

They're small, hardly cuddly, there are ample specimens in Germany & if handled properly or at all indeed, they will convert Germany into a set study of Scotland as seen through the "Doomsday 2008" movie.

let us know how you get on.

They do absolutely aweful jobs when trying to catch the mink its too hilarious to watch!

I remember last years pictures appearing on  http://directaction.info, from the media, of (for example) 4-6 soldiers trying to catch one mink under a car - it was priceless!!

Most of the time they barely manage to catch more than 1000 (using the army, normally about 100-400 with just farmers), so two thirds will still be roaming free and have their lives back in the wild where they belong. That's until next time when the militants return though!

Cost the state too, nice little bonus...