German Soliders Round Up "Death Camp" Escapees

[MTI]

7,500 Mink Escape from Farm

Around 7,500 mink have escaped from a German fur farm. Authorities are warning local residents not to go near the marauding mustelids, who may be hungry and dangerous, while soldiers are trying to catch the varmints with nets. The mink stole [pun?] away after unknown criminals opened a large number of cages and destroyed fences at a fur farm in the early hours of Friday morning, police reported Friday.

The authorities first suspected that up to 17,000 mink had escaped from the farm, which is near the village of Grabow in the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt. However authorities had revised the figure down to 7,500 by Friday afternoon.

Dozens of helpers, including some 20 soldiers with the German Army, were trying to capture the runaway mustelids on Friday with the help of nets, while local hunters had the escapees in their sights. There is speculation that animal rights activists, who have repeatedly criticized fur farms as cruel, may be behind the incident. However, police admit they have little evidence to go on and are making no statements as to possible perpetrators.

In a similar and possibly related incident, around 5,000 mink were released from a fur farm in Denmark in the early hours of Monday morning.