From Press Officer Joseph Buddenberg
patreon.com/josephbuddenberg
View of the now abandoned Rykola Mink Farm in Ebensburg, PA.
Eleven years ago today.
For 54 years, George Rykola murdered thousands of mink every year without consequences. His farm lacked a fence or security, but sadly had never been visited by the Animal Liberation Front.
It was the fifth fur farm from which I freed animals that summer. I have visited countless mink farms but this one is forever etched into my memory:
There was the feral mink who attempted to bite through my gloved hands, having only known the abusive hands of George Rykola.
And there was a mink who screeched so loudly when I unlatched the cage she was destined to die in. The sound will tear your soul apart.
Nearly 1,000 animals escaped the property to establish new lives in the surrounding wilderness. This was done in less than twenty minutes.
I’ll never forget the sight of hundreds of mink escaping into the woods, and experiencing their first moments of freedom and joy, feeling the earth beneath their feet as they began their new lives.
In the media, fur industry officials downplayed the number of liberated animals and hoped to dissuade others with their lies about “domestic mink.” The same lies will persist until we destroy this industry.
Hundreds of animals were never recaptured and lived out the rest of their lives with dignity.
At the time, there were at least 18 fur farms in Pennsylvania. Today, only one fur farm remains in the state. Liberators visited that farm last year and freed 7,000 captives. The ALF always keeps their promises. This industry will die. Pennsylvania will soon be free of wildlife prisons.