Update from DeMatteis Farm in Boyers, Marion Township, Pennsylvania

By Thursday morning, the death toll to the farm-raised mink had risen to a total of 443: 103 nursing females and 340 kits, some killed on the road, some killed by being trampled by whoever broke into the farm, some simply by stress. The kits, weighing between a quarter and one pound, are 3-6 weeks away from weaning from their mothers and, since the litters were broken up by the criminal(s), the farmer will attempt to match up the young kits with females willing to adopt and nurse them. He will work to minimize rejections by the female mink, rejections which would result in the death of the kits by starvation.

There was confusion as to how the two family dogs had been killed. At first it was thought they'd been shot but now it appears they may have been hit with a sharp instrument. The two dogs were family pets and "didn't have a mean bone in their bodies," according to Kim DeMatteis (pronounced DeMatts). One was a male, a 19-year-old sheepdog named Sy (30-40 pounds) and the second was a 2-year-old sheepdog/beagle mix named Sandy (20 pounds). "They would herd the mink if they got out of their pens but never kill one, they were that gentle," added Kim.

"The pattern differs from what we've seen in the past during attacks on mink farms by eco-terrorists," stated Teresa Platt, Executive Director of Fur Commission USA, a non-profit association representing mink farmers in 28 states. "Occasionally mink are trampled by the criminals but not to this scale. And family dogs have been killed by poisoning but not in this manner. Whoever did this brutal and inhumane crime, whether eco-terrorist or someone with another motive, they should turn themselves in and get professional help."

FCUSA is offering up to $100,000 as a reward for information leading to the conviction of those involved. Pennsylvania has strengthened its laws against attacks on its farmers, resource providers and researchers and the Butler County State Police and the FBI are investigating the crime.

The DeMatteis family farm has raised mink for 32 years on a mink farm established in 1936. Pennsylvania is home to nine mink farms which produced 61,000 mink pelts in 2005 valued at approximately $60 each for a total value of $3.660 million.

For those who want to help the family recover from this crime and to rebuild their farm over the next few years, FCUSA has established the "DeMatteis Family Fund." See our Donations page for more info. Include a note on your donation that it is for the DeMatteis Family Fund.

For more information see Vicious Attack on Fur Farming Family Results in Dogs Killed, Brutalized Mink and Kits," FCUSA press release, June 6, 2007.

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