INDEPENDENCE, Wis. – Animal rights activists cut a chain-link fence and released 3,000 mink from the Olsen fur ranch overnight. The intrusion was discovered first thing in the morning. In an anonymous post on the Animal Liberation Front website, a person admitted to the release. Trempealeau County Sheriff Brett Semingson issued a call for anyone who saw suspicious vehicles between 11 p.m. and 3:45 a.m. The ranch is in a wooded area off the six-mile stretch of State Highway 121 between Whitehall and Independence. The Olsen fur ranch also was the target of an 800 animal release in 1987.
Animal Lib profile
The Animal Liberation Front is a decentralized if not shadowy resistance movement that promotes non-violent action against animal cruelty. It’s been around since the 1970s. Participants remove animals from laboratories and farms, destroy facilities, arrange veterinary care, and operate sanctuaries. Critics call participants eco-terrorists. The FBI has labeled it an extremist organization. In July the organization enthusiastically noted the closure of a fur ranch 140 miles away in LeCenter, Minnesota.
Mink profile
Mink are a weasel-like animal. Ranch-bred males can be seven pounds, females much less. Trappers in the Upper Midwest in the early 1800s sought mink for the silky fur tyat was in demand globally for haut coiffure coats. The species almost disappeared in the wild, but breeding ranches cropped up to meet the demand. The industry thrived until animal rights movement targeted cruel practices. As a result, mink and other furs have come to be shunned in high fashion. Faux fur now has replaced the real thing in the fashion industry. In some areas, including the Root River valley in Minnesota, fur ranches all have gone out business. But a subsidiary industry held on a while longer — summer fur storage companies. Because fur fashion items were vulnerable to damage in summer heat, these companies stored furs in refrigerated warehouses between seasons. One of the last of these firms was in Winona — Furs by Francis next to the Winona National Bank. It closed in 2010.