The following press release has just been issued in New Zealand by Auckland Animal Action. Derogatory comments about the farmer concerned have been deleted. By forwarding it to this forum for your information, I am not (R) not endorsing the comments in this release, or the actions of the Animal Liberation Front. I will be preparing a statement on this issue for the New Zealand Ferret Protection and Welfare Society Incorporated, which should be released after our Executive Committee meeting next week. John Chessum Secretary Ferret PAWS (NZ) Inc PRESS RELEASE July 15th 2000 Activists raid ferret farm, 200 animals released, breeding records destroyed An underground animal rights group has claimed responsibility for a raid on a Waikato ferret farm. The Hamilton Animal Liberation Front says it released 200 ferrets from cages on the farm, damaged equipment, and destroyed most of the farms breeding records. Mystic Ferrets is a factory farm owned by Bruce Hollamby that has bred ferrets to be killed and skinned for the fur trade for at least twenty years. Recently they have become the main supplier of ferrets to the pet shop industry. Hundreds of ferrets spend their entire lives confined in tiny wire cages similar to a battery hen cage The ALF sent an anonymous message to sympathetic animal rights groups saying it had released the ferrets from their cages and into the surrounding farmland early on Thursday morning. This was aimed at causing maximum disruption to the farmer who would have to try and round them up again, and some ferrets would be able to escape and survive in the wild. The most serious disruption for the farmer would be the destruction of his breeding records. Ferret farms depend on accurate breeding records to survive economically. The destruction of the breeding records will almost certainly force the company out of business. A spokesperson for a sympathetic animal rights group said "This action means at least some of the ferrets will have a chance at freedom, rather than a life of suffering in a wire cage. And in the long term it will hopefully lead to the closure of the farm." Auckland Animal Action spokesperson Michael Bone said his group had previously received copies of photos from the farm showing rows of filthy wire cages the same size as a battery chicken cage, with up to three ferrets in each cage. The government should ban ferret farming in New Zealand. There is no excuse for keeping these intelligent animals confined in cruel conditions like the ones at this ferret factory farm. IMPORTANT: The Animal Liberation Front is a network of anonymous small groups who carry out direct action against animal abuse. We have no contact with the ALF other than receiving anonymous messages describing their actions. Auckland Animal Action Phone 021 128 7943 [Posted in FML issue 3125]