Vandals kill 400 minks, two dogs at farm

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ^ | June 08, 2007 | Cindi Lash

[grundle]

Mr. DeMatteis, 48, was staring in horror at the aftermath of an overnight rampage: smashed and toppled cages, carcasses of trampled minks and the bloody bodies of his children's two pet dogs.

"Whoever broke in brutally injured or killed baby minks, nursing mothers, and totally tore the whole ranch apart."

Intruders set loose nearly 2,800 minks, resulting in the deaths of at least 443 animals. They also nearly severed the heads of the family's 19-year-old sheepdog, named Sy, and 2-year-old sheepdog-beagle mix, named Sandy, by shooting or bludgeoning them with something sharp.

Many minks were run over after slipping under a fence and scampering to a nearby road. Others appeared to have been stomped to death near their pens, she said. The dead animals included 340 kits, or baby minks, that weighed less than a pound and were still nursing and helpless.

The intruders wiped out the business started in 1936 by her husband's father and uncle and operated for the past 32 years by her husband. They managed to round up many surviving animals.

But they can no longer breed those minks for sale because they cannot match the animals with pedigree-history information that was posted on pens.

"Our life is done. Our business is done. Our lives are ruined," she said. "Every mink that didn't get killed, we lost its bloodlines. And if mothers don't accept [surviving] babies, they'll starve to death."

Her two daughters and her son, ages 8, 7 and 4, are inconsolable over losing beloved dogs. The minks were not insured because "nobody would give us insurance with these animal rights groups."

"We can't imagine who would do this to us," she said, breaking down again. "This was my husband's livelihood. This was our life. But I don't know if I can do it anymore."

[Jersey Republican Biker Chick]

I was thinking the same thing....

[Monterrosa-24]

You must believe that the PETA types love animals in the traditional way and that they would never harm small little creatures. The facts are different. Remember those who wanted the Polar Bear cub destroyed because they said he would be better off dead than raised in a German zoo?

Remember the PETA scandal when one of their “shelters” was found to have destroyed hundreds of animals when not listing euthanasia as one of their “services”.

Why minks? It is because these animal rights guys can think of nothing worse than the fur industry unless it is medical research with animals. Even Adolf Hitler (according to Toland’s biography) was antivivisectionist.

[Sherman Logan]

These days? Paranoid, mentally unstable mentalities have always been around. The only difference between then and now, is that they have a political party which represents them.

The other difference is that we read about everything that happens today. 30 years ago this would probably have been reported only in the local paper. A few thousand people would have read about it. Today millions may.

[gonzo]

"...Until enough of us "we the people" wake up and see the need to take the mantle of responsibility the Framers bestowed on us when they gave us a "Republic", and call a halt to the madness, it will continue unabated..."

"...This incisive post is one of the reasons FR is a treasure for intelligent, educated people.
I don't think the subject of this thread can be addressed better or more to the point..."

Would this be a good time to mention guns and ammo? Knowing that the nutbars like PETA and ALF are loose out there, it seems prudent to have security on yer livelyhood.

Hell, we mold plastics, and everybody's packin' heat! ..................... FRegards