Get a look at a mink farm – without being the Animal Liberation Front
Here is a secret fur farmers don’t want you to know: how to get a close look at
a mink farm – legally.
There is an odd trend among the small number of fur farms left in the U.S.:
several of them are also cut-your-own Christmas tree farms.
These tree farms invite members of the public onto their property to find the
perfect Christmas tree. This invitation could offer the prospective Christmas
tree buyer a glimpse of a fur farm rarely experienced outside of Animal
Liberation Front (A.L.F.) raids.
One such fur farm is the Gengel Mink Farm. A recent article on Christmas tree
farms in the Chicago area stated:
“A mink farm year-round, the 60-acre Gengel site was first planted with
evergreen trees in 1964 and has been known to sell up to 500 trees annually.”
The Blueprint fur farm list categorizes the Gengel Mink Farm as being an open,
active mink farm.
By their nature, Christmas tree farms encourage exploration of the property to
find the perfect tree, offering an otherwise impossible opportunity to see a
mink farm up close.
The website for the another tree farm – the Ide Christmas Tree Farm – invites
visitors to explore:
“Hike as much or little as it takes to find the ‘Perfect Tree’ for your family.”
What the website doesn’t say is that this tree farm is on the same property as
the Charles Ide Jr. fur farm in Downer’s Grove, Illinois. This fur farm is
rumored to be closed, but this has never been confirmed. Going tree shopping at
this farm allows anyone to get close to the sheds and confirm its status once
and for all.
A third fur farm – Mildbrand Mink Ranch in Medford, Wisconsin – also operates a
Christmas tree farm. While this farm appears to be located around the corner
from the mink sheds, this would still be one place to not buy a tree this year.
For the others, this is one opportunity that cannot be passed up: mink farmers
inviting the public onto their property.
Christmas tree shoppers are invited to send their reports to Voice of the
Voiceless.
- Peter Young
