MONTREAL - An intruder deliberately set loose hundreds of minks in a rural Quebec fur farm and some of the creatures may have found their way off the property, provincial police said Wednesday.
The farm is at the heart of allegations of animal mistreatment and various groups tried last week to force the government to remove as many as 80 foxes and several thousand minks from the facility.
Police did not have an exact tally for the number of minks on the lam.
Sgt. Joyce Kemp said officers were called Wednesday morning to a farm in St-Jude, about 70 kilometres northeast of Montreal.
"On the scene, the police officers saw that the cages in which the minks were kept had been opened," Kemp said. "Hundreds of minks were loose, most were in the barn but some were able to get outside."
The facility hasn't been named by either the government or animal welfare groups because of possible legal recourse.
Alan Herscovici, executive vice-president of the Fur Council of Canada, said he heard the number of minks released could be as high as 3,000.
Earlier on Wednesday, a spokesman for the Forests, Wildlife and Parks Department said the exact number of minks on the loose was unclear, but said there could be a few thousand.
Herscovici, whose group is a a non-profit, national industry association, says freedom could mean big trouble for the minks.
"They are not really well equipped to survive in the wild, and so if people think they were acting for animal welfare, they were doing quite the opposite for these minks," he said.
Some could die from dehydration, starvation or be run over by cars.
Herscovici says the animals are drawn to the sound of car engines because it is similar to that of a machine used to feed them.
"Any of them the farmers don't manage to catch again, most will die," he said.
Animal advocate groups like the Montreal SPCA and Humane Society International Canada had called on the government last week to seize the animals because of their poor health and substandard living conditions.
In May, SPCA officials said the animals were dehydrated, malnourished and living in cramped quarters. During a visit this month, an official said the conditions had deteriorated. They published images and video last week detailing the conditions.
The SPCA said last week it was even prepared to house the animals if the government required assistance. Wildlife falls under the government's responsibility.
"(The SPCA) hopes that the minks will be safely recovered and placed in wildlife sanctuaries rather than returned to the fur farm," the organization said.
But the government has been steadfast in wanting to keep the animals put and said removing them would be complicated.
On Friday, the minister in charge, Laurent Lessard, said there had been problems at the farms but that things had improved. A plan was in place to ensure longer-term treatment for the animals.
Kemp said an investigation is ongoing.
Meanwhile, Herscovici said the farmer and neighbours were helping recapture the minks Wednesday.
He called the actions very irresponsible.
"Some people obviously don't agree with fur farming, but that's not a way to handle differences of opinion," Herscovici said.
