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NORTH CENTRAL FOX PRODUCERS' ASSOCIATION PRESS RELEASE, APRIL 5, 2005
Update on Illinois Fox Farm Raid
Contact: Lou Baumel 218-245-2127
Early in the morning of April 1, 2005, trespassers entered the Littig Fox Ranch in Bluffs, Illinois and opened 58 pens of domesticated farm-raised foxes, all females nursing litters of young pups or about to deliver within the next 10 days. Most of the foxes did not leave their pens and the farmer has recovered all of them and returned them to their pens.
As reported in our April 2 press release, one adult female fox died from stress immediately after the raid and the farmer's family was attempting to save her four orphaned pups but three have since died.
However, the impact of the raid on the foxes has traumatized the animals. As of late afternoon April 5, 32 litters have been lost. 15 litters were lost when the female foxes miscarried and 17 when they killed their pups due to nervousness and stress. Among the foxes that miscarried is one that is nursing a leg injured while she cowered in a pipe under the driveway.
The statement issued by the criminals who attacked the farm included a reference to themselves as a "small band of do-gooders" which angered Mrs. Littig. "This does no good. It does not serve a purpose. It's just destruction," she stated. Other observers agree. (See ALF: Willing to sacrifice foxes for a greater good, Animal Crackers, Apr. 3, 2005.)
According to Lou Baumel of the North Central Fox Producers' Association, which represents fox farmers in the region, there are approximately 10,000 domesticated foxes raised on farms in 20 states. The value of the pelts produced for clothing is estimated at $1 million. Such farms come under the jurisdiction of the state departments of agriculture.
For more on eco-terrorism, see FCUSA Press Kit Special Feature: Safe Farms Campaign.
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