Vandals release up to 40,000 mink from an Ohio farm - with at least 10,000 still unaccounted for

Up to 40,000 mink were released on Monday night from a farm in northwest Ohio and around 10,000 remain on the loose.

A message spray-painted on the mink enclosure reported by a worker suggests that their release was coordinated by animal rights activists ahead of mink pelting season.

Of the minks released many were shot and killed by disgruntled locals, others were hit by cars and some were recaptured by farm workers.

So many carcasses lined the roads besides the farm that a snow plow was brought in to clear away their bodies, Van Wert County Sheriff Thomas Riggenbach said.

Carnivorous minks are regarded as pests that 'stick to a diet of fresh kills,' according to a statement from the sheriff's office. 

The sheriff warned that because mink regularly hunt prey bigger than them they can be problematic to poultry ranchers and livestock owners.

He informed county residents that 'property owners have a right to protect their property' and advised them on local hunting laws.

The release of the minks - which are farmed for their pelts across the Midwest -  marks one of the largest releases of farmed minks in recent history.

In the last two weeks a group known as the Animal Liberation Front claimed responsibility for releasing around 1,000 minks from another farm in Massillon, Ohio, and another 800 from a farm in northern Michigan.

Somebody from Pipkorn Farm confirmed to DailyMail.com that its minks had been released but declined to comment on the number and said the FBI were now investigating the case. 

The release of 40,000 minks on Monday was the largest of three attacks on Mink farms just this month. In all three the letters 'ALF' were spray-painted on sheds

One of the estimated 40,000 minks that were released overnight on Monday from Lions Farm in Ohio

A spray-painted message on the walls of a farm building suggest the release was carried out by the Animal Liberation Front. They have taken credit for two other mink releases this month

Disgruntled locals who consider the minks to be pests came out with guns to hunt the mink

On Tuesday morning the owner of Lion Farms USA estimated that 25,000 to 40,000 mink were released from their cages on the farm, Riggenbach said.

Later it was announced that employees at the farm were able to corral many of those that remained on the property back into captivity. 

A farm manager told WANE-TV that someone left a spray-painted message on mink enclosure reading, 'ALF' and 'we'll be back.'

Steve Replogle shoots at a mink on the side of the road. He claimed his friends chickens were already attacked by minks

Repogle told local news outlet WTOL11 that he had already killed eight mink byTuesday afternoon

While many minks were hit by cars as they loitered on nearby US127, local news outlet WTOL11 reported that dozens of locals got together to hunt the animals on Tuesday.

Steve Replogle said he was shooting loose minks as a public service and described them as 'a danger to society' and a 'nuisance'.

He claimed to have already killed eight minks on Tuesday afternoon and claimed his friend's chicken farm had already been attacked.

'I heard they are about $40 a pop,' said Repogle, referring to the value of their pelts.

A farm manager said that inside the barn from which the minks were freed were spray-painted the words: 'We'll be back,' and 'ALF.'

The Animal Liberation Front took credit for releasing 1,000 minks on November 8 from a mink farm in Massillon in Ohio

Photos the ALF claims to have captured on the night minks were released earlier this month

Another farm in Michigan was targeted soon after and 800 mink were released, the ALF claims

The sheriff's office initially warned residents in the area to be cautious with poultry flocks, small pets and koi ponds that the mink might attack, but it later said the freed mink are considered domesticated and likely lack the skills to survive in the wild.

The sheriff urged people who spot them not to approach them, and to contact the farm or trappers for recapturing.

He said residents who want to hunt or trap mink must make sure they understand what related rules and exemptions apply in their area.

Around 275 mink farms in 23 states across the USA produce about 3 million pelts annually, according to Fur Commission USA, a group that represents mink farmers.

Wisconsin is the leading mink-farming state but other major producers are Utah, Idaho, Oregon and Minnesota.