Farm's escaped minks still running wild

SULTAN — The number of farm-raised minks seen scurrying around the area has dropped in the more than three weeks since 10,000 were illegally released from a fur farm.

Still, the occasional blue mink can be seen crossing Highway 2 or running from a local chicken coop.

Sultan police are trying to determine how much damage the released minks have caused. Owners of Roesler Bros. Fur Farm have estimated losses near $500,000. Neighbors who lost chickens, exotic birds and other pets to the minks say they've also incurred losses in the thousands.

"There was thousands and thousands of dollars' worth of damage to area residents," said Sultan Police Chief Fred Walser, adding that it was unclear whether insurance companies will reimburse property owners.

Though Walser's police units responded first to the mink release that occurred sometime early Aug. 25, the FBI is the lead investigator. The Animal Liberation Front (ALF), considered an "eco-terrorist" group by the FBI, claimed responsibility through a news release shortly after the release.

According to the ALF, members cut through fencing surrounding the Roesler farm and opened as many of the cages containing about 20,000 minks as they could.

Initially, many minks were rounded up as police dragged themselves from one call to another: a dead mink on a road, a trapped mink in a garage, a hungry mink chewing through chicken wire.

Residents and volunteers spent nights yanking minks from their hiding places and returning them to the farm's owners. About 8,000 of the animals have been returned, Walser said.

About 1,300 have died of dehydration or run-ins with vehicles and residents, said Kate Roesler, who owns the farm with her family.

"We have about 200 (still) out," Roesler said. "They're coming back pretty skinny and a little beat-up."

Roesler said that by last week, fewer than three minks a day were wandering back onto the farm. She reported that nearly 30 minks were dying each day — many after attacking each other after being returned to cages that didn't hold their original littermates.

"One of the farmers told me that it looks like a MASH unit," said Teresa Platt, the executive director of the Fur Commission USA. "The mortality rate is pretty high. ... The bulk of them are dying from stress."

But state biologists said that it is possible for the minks to survive in the wild and that if they can make it through the winter, it's possible they'll begin breeding with each other or with wild minks. Small mammal and ground-foraging bird populations could be decimated, the biologists said.

Dave Ross, who lives adjacent to Roesler Bros. Fur Farm, fears that possibility. He's fended off minks from his chicken cages daily since the release. He's lost a number of exotic chickens and homing pigeons, as well as a couple of cats to the released minks.

"I suppose I don't want to make any trouble about it, but who's going to pay for all the damages to our properties?" Ross asked. "My fear is what will happen if they do start to breed in the wild. They'll be back."

Ross estimated his losses in the thousands and said some of the breeds he lost can't be replaced.

Jeffrey Weaver lost close to three dozen exotic birds — a mix of Banny chickens and Indian-runner ducks — and mallards. For days after, Weaver caught minks in live traps, capturing 40 animals in all. He shot another dozen.

"I've screened my cages heavier, so I don't think they can get in anymore," Weaver said. "But I know they're still out there."

Weaver estimated his losses at around $2,000.

Roesler said they have set out traps for minks. She recommends local farmers kill minks if they see them attacking their livestock.

Platt said the FBI's track record for finding and arresting ALF members "is dismal." If caught, local residents could file civil suits against the offenders to recoup their losses.

Platt's agency will dole out a $100,000 reward, put up by several fur auction houses and mink breeders, to whoever offers information leading to an arrest and conviction. She fears other mink farms in Snohomish County could be hit by the ALF or copycats.

About four farms in Snohomish County produced 56,000 pelts in 2001, according to the latest U.S. Department of Agriculture data. Washington is home to 15 mink farms and had a production of more than 113,000 pelts in 2001.

At $40 a pelt, the mink industry is worth about $4.5 million to the state of Washington, making it one of the nation's top 10 producers.

The Roesler farm produces about 15 percent of the mink pelts that come from Washington state, according to the Agriculture Department.

Jennifer Sullivan: 425-783-0604 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com Christopher Schwarzen: 425-783-0577 or cschwarzen@seattletimes.com