Liberated Mink Survive in the Wild, Study Shows
Study shows released mink survive in the wild.
Laying to waste fur industry claims that liberated mink do not survive in the wild, a recent study published in April 2009 studies the survival rate of captive-bred mink when released. The study, done in partnership with Oxford University, tracked the survival of released mink over eight years. The study found that none of the released mink died directly due to lack of survival skills.
For years, anecdotal evidence and quotes from wildlife biologists supported the possibility of high survival rates for released mink. For example, view this article on a (now removed) blog post from a Utah woman finding a mink in her yard near the McMullin Fur Farm, 18 months after it was raided by the Animal Liberation Front.
The Mink Release Study
The study (viewed here), is titled “The survival of captive-born animals in restoration programmes – Case study of the endangered European mink Mustela lutreola“.
The study set out to answer the following questions:
1. What is the survival rate of released mink and how does it
change with time since release?
2. Do age, sex of an individual, and the conditions in which it is
kept prior to release, affect its subsequent survival in the wild?
3. What are causes of mortality?
A few of the factors which could mitigate the relevance of this study are:
*The study was done with endangered European mink, not the commonly farmed North American mink.
*The study did not specify how many generations the mink had been bred in captivity (though, as reprinted below, it concluded this was not relevant to survival).
Mink Release Study Highlights
*”There was no evidence that the number of generations for which the lineage of the released individuals had been bred in captivity had any effect on survival.”
*Released mink survived for “up to 39 months”
*”The main cause of death was other carnivores and raptors, although this broad categorization may conceal a diversity of fatal scenarios.”
*(Only)”…three deaths were caused by humans: one was shot, the second was hit by a car and the third was beaten to death when venturing into a farmyard.”
*A quarter of the released European mink died within the first ten days. Survival decreased by half in 38 days and then stabilized….Overall, we conclude that mink adapt to the wild c. 1–1.5 months after release.”
*No mink were found to have died (directly) due to lack of survival skills.
*”The results show that genetically managed, long-term breeding programs within the zoo community can be a source of individuals for re-introductions”.
The study includes graphs charting survival rates and more.
Fur Industry Lies
In the wake of mink liberations by the A.L.F., the fur industry’s stock-response, without exception, is that released mink will not survive in the wild. They are likely to have no comment on this recent study, which proves these soundbites to be false.
Conclusion
Now we have a study published in partnership with a major university, in a credible academic journal, proving what the Animal Liberation Front and critical thinkers have believed for years: farm-raised mink retain their wild instincts, and when released, can reassimilate successfully into their native habitat.
- Peter Young
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Related posts:
http://www.cardinalpointsonline.com/opinions/letter-animal-testing-on-campus-needs-to-be-abolished-1.2189406
I would like to alert those concerned with animal rights to the experimentation that takes place on campus and is presumably paid for with your tuition and tax dollars. Here’s the basic gist.
Plattsburgh State appears to conduct the same test, year after year, on chinchillas. The animals — sometimes restrained physically, sometimes not — are blasted with computer generated noise eight hours per day, five days a week. PSUC’s report to the United States Department of Agriculture tries to reassure us, laughably, saying the noise exposures “are less severe than unprotected exposures experienced by military personnel.” When the experiments are completed, all the animals are euthanized.
No doubt the experimenters would defend their work by saying they go to great lengths to protect the animals’ welfare — except for that nasty bit about killing them, whoops! But even if this were true, it’s hardly the point. The real issue is that animals are not means to human ends.
Please write to President John Ettling and tell him to abolish animal testing at Plattsburgh State. Here’s his e-mail address: president_office@plattsburgh.edu. For information about upcoming events, including a potential protest here against experimentation, please join the “Adirondack Animal Rights” group on Facebook.
But what about the effect on the surrounding ecosystem that these mink are introduced to? That’s the part I am curious about. If thousands of mink are suddenly introduced someplace where originally there were none, how is that going to affect that ecosystem?
the short and simple answer is that mink don’t belong in small cages, mink, or any animal for that matter, don’t belong on fur farms only to live a tortuous life and then die a horrible death and/or be electrocuted mercilessly.
besides man has already trashed most if not all of the worlds ecosystems. witness the unthinkable destruction of the amazon rainforest and the pacific northwest rainforests.
@ Jon
that’s totally insane.
If you read the actual study, the captive mink in question were first checked out for their ability to catch local prey and other skills, including swimming, and kept away from humans as much as possible, i.e., not exactly the same conditions that exist in a fur farm, where the animals are jammed into filthy cages and given food and may then be suddenly released with no warning by well-meaning animal rights activists. This was a study sponsored by a number of European zoos, among other groups, to study the effects of releasing previously captive minks into the wild apparently to counter the “invasiveness” of American minks in the geographical area of study. Although I’d like to think so, I’m not convinced it proves that fur-farmed minks, with their miserable and circumscribed lives, would fare as well after being liberated for ethical reasons as these better treated and better prepared minks.