50,000 Liberated Minks Won't Stop the Fur Industry

Animal Liberation Front has, unsurprisingly, claimed responsibility for the break-ins at two northern Greece fur farms last weekend that set loose 50,000 minks.

As activism goes, this stunt was about as effective as taking hostages at the Discovery Channel headquarters to save wildlife. Sure, it scored headlines, but is anyone taking this opportunity to report on the cruelty of the fur industry or the conditions where these minks were kept, or comment on the fact that these 50,000 animals that were slated to be killed for fashion? Not one.

This action failed the minks, it failed the anti-fur campaign, it failed the local wildlife, and it even failed the Animal Liberation Front's credo.

The Animal Liberation Front is known for inflicting damage to places like fur farms and laboratories in order to deal a blow to the business' income, disrupt their abuse of animals and draw attention to the cause. But ALF Credo and Guidelines are also heavily focused on saving the animals themselves. For instance, Guideline #1: "To liberate animals from places of abuse ... and place them in good homes where they may live out their natural lives, free from suffering."

Sometimes ALF is right on the mark. Unfortunately, this was not one of them. The reality behind the liberation of the minks in Greece is that their freedom will be short-lived — literally, in most cases. As it was pointed out across the media (sadly, by the National Fur Breeders' Association), most of the animals will die in the heat. Having spent their lives in little cages, these animals are ill-equipped to survive on their own. Some have already become road kill.

Local wildlife are also going to become collateral damage. When you release 50,000 of any animal into an area, it's bound to have an impact, but when it's a non-native species, especially a predator like minks, the results can be devastating.

Were the mink better off at the fur farm? Hell no. But, to be honest, it's probably a draw since most of them will just suffer and die young out in the open instead of suffering and dying in cages.

And, of course, the farms aren't just going to let their furry little dollar signs run away. They're rounding up as many as possible to bring them back to the farm. Maybe a few of the released minks will make it out of this alive, but for the majority, they didn't make it even close to the proverbial "good home."

Did ALF at least succeed in disrupting business and causing financial loss? It's estimated that this could cause the farm owners more than $1.27 million. Without knowing the financial position of these particular farms, I can't say whether that's enough to shut them down, or if it's just an incentive for them to hurry up and turn lots of animals into coats to recoup their losses.

In the big picture, 50,000 mink set loose from two farms isn't likely to shut down the industry or stop people from buying fur, especially not in Greece where there are some 4,000 businesses related to the fur trade. In fact, it could have the opposite effect as people use this example of extremism as an excuse to marginalize the anti-fur movement.

Campaigns are successful when they focus on the plight of the animals, not the actions of the activists.

In Sweden, mink farms are also under attack. Members of the Animal Rights Alliance also broke into fur farms recently, but instead of flinging open the cage doors, they documented the cruelty to wage a political battle. Right now, I'd put my money on Swedish mink farms being shut down before we see any real change in Greece.

Photo credit: public domain