Go Inside the Iowa Fur Farm Where 1,500 Mink Were Released

Exclusive photos inside the Palmer Erickson fur farm where over 1,000 animals were liberated last week

On October 10th, 2011, a person or persons unknown opened cages at a mink and fox farm in Jewell, Iowa; releasing 1,200 to 1,500 animals.

I’m posting here for the first time photos taken inside this farm. These were submitted anonymously during the research phase of the Fur Farm Intelligence Project (read more about the project here). The exact date of the photos is unknown, but they were obtained in 2009.

The farm is located along railroad tracks approximately one mile south of downtown Jewell, Iowa (pop. 1,239). About two miles northwest of the farm is a second mink farm, the Isebrands fur farm, raided by the ALF in 1999. Also located in downtown Jewell is the Hawkeye Mink Cooperative, a feed supplier and pelt processor for Iowa fur farms. Jewell has been been hit hard by Animal Liberation Front (and other unclaimed) actions since 1999, with four mink releases and a break-in at the Hawkeye feed supplier (see “how it was done” article in Bite Back #14).

These photos show the mink and fox imprisoned by Palmer Erickson at his Jewell fur farm. Last week, over 1,000 animals were spared the fate of those shown here by anonymous individuals who released them to freedom.