Thousands Of Minks Set Loose On Rural Ohio Community: Police

HOAGLIN TOWNSHIP, OH — Tens of thousands of minks were set loose in the dark of night earlier this week in rural northwest Ohio, according to police.

Authorities responded Tuesday morning to Lion Farms USA Mink Farms in Hoaglin Township, where they learned an overnight intruder had destroyed fencing at the farm and released up to 40,000 minks from their cages, according to the Van Wert County Sheriff’s Office.

By late afternoon, about 10,000 minks remained free, police said. Thousands more were found to have not left the property and were corralled by farm employees, according to police.

Minks are carnivorous and often hunt prey larger than themselves, but the runaways are domesticated and unable to survive in the wild, according to the sheriff’s office, which requested that anyone who sees a loose mink call the farm or a nuisance trapper.

Landowners have the right to protect pets and other animal property from interloping minks, but shooting a gun in a municipal area may be illegal, police said. Owners who meet the hunting license exemption may hunt or trap minks on their own land without a fur-taker permit, according to police.

People with questions about hunting or trapping minks can contact the Ohio Department of Natural Resources at 1-800-945-3543. Anyone with information about how the minks came to be released is asked to call the sheriff’s office at 419-238-3866 or Van Wert County Crime Stoppers at 419-238-7867. Callers may remain anonymous.