400 Mink Liberated in Washington State

Sep 12th, 2010
by Peter Young

The Fur Commission USA is reporting 400 mink were released September 9th, 2010 from a fur farm in Granite Falls, Washington. The name of the farm was not specified. [Press Office Update: According to media reports, the 400 mink were released from cages at Beck's Mink Farm (17903 Engebretsen Road) in Granite Falls, Washington on September 9].

According to the fur farm directory The Blueprint, Granite Falls is home to two known mink farms: The Jeff Craggs fur farm, and Beck’s Mink Farm. View images of the farms here:
Jeff Craggs farm
Becks Mink Farm

The largest mink release in the state occurred in 2003, when 10,000 mink were released from the Roesler Brothers Fur Farm in nearby Sultan, Washington. That farm was reported to still be open as of the summer of 2009.

Harvey Beck reported an attempted raid of his farm in the summer of 1997. No animals were reported to have been released in that incident. In a verbal folly of Bush proportions, while endorsing a bill that would target “eco-terrorists”, Beck made this statement to Washington state lawmakers in 2001: "What does ecoterrorism have to do with our civil liberties and free speech? Absolutely nothing but destruction."

No claim of responsibility by the Animal Liberation Front has been made.