British Columbia, Canada - According to a communique received by the North American Animal Liberation Press Office this week, 4000 captive mink were released from a British Columbia, Canada mink farm last Saturday. The communique includes a list of the addresses of six captive mink farms in the same area. 5000 mink were released in November 1995 from the Rippin Fur Farm, which may be the same facility targeted this week; both are located in Aldergrove, BC.

Imprisoned in cages for life, fur-bearing animals are forced to endure intensive confinement compared to the miles of territory these animals would enjoy in the wild - their natural state. The natural instincts of these captive animals are completely frustrated; self-mutilation, sickness, infection, poor sanitation and the sheer stress of confinement leads animals to premature death. When they survive, animals of sufficient size are killed by anal electrocution or gassing. Whereas reports from the fur industry have surfaced that liberations were harmful to the animals, the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) and other organizations have a long history of successfully releasing animals into the wild from fur farms. In addition to liberating the wild animals destined for a certain, painful and agonizing death, another goal of liberationists is to cause economic damage to fur farms; dozens of fur farming operations have seen economic ruin since "Operation Bite Back" began by the ALF in the 1990s.

“The fur industry wants the public to believe that most of the mink liberated are recaptured or killed after being freed, but this is not the case; and I would argue that even if some are recaptured, at least they have been given a chance at what everyone deserves, a chance to live free” stated Camille Hankins, a Press Officer with the Animal Liberation Press Office. "Contrary to the rhetoric of those who profit from the imprisonment and killing of these beautiful, wild creatures, scientific studies have proven captive mink have the innate ability to survive in the wild, do not decimate other animal populations or the environment, and do not carry away small children or pets."