NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Game Commission now believes several hundred rather than several thousand minks are on the loose in an area of Northumberland County.
Officials now say it's unclear exactly how many minks went missing from that fur farm just south of Sunbury. But for some people who live in the area, the minks are causing a lot of problems.
Three days after minks were released from a fur farm outside of Sunbury, some have been killed, many are still on the loose, and others have been trapped.
Rebecca Correll and her husband live less than a mile from the fur farm and saw their first mink Monday morning.
"Then we started seeing them walking around, and I said, 'Well, let's try and trap them.' I don't want to kill them, and I don't want them to get killed in the road."
Since Monday, the Corrells have seen many minks on their farm.
"We caught two more in the evening, I think, and then we caught two more."
When Newswatch 16 was there, some tuna lured one into a trap.
"They want to be protected. They look up in your face like, 'Are you going to feed me?'"
The Pennsylvania Game Commission initially said thousands of minks escaped from the fur farm early Sunday morning when someone broke into the farm, cut holes in the fencing, and opened the cages.
According to a Facebook post by the Sunbury Animal Hospital, the Game Commission now believes several hundred minks are on the loose.
Minks are carnivores and eat small animals. Correll moved her chickens indoors.
"This predator can get through that little bit of width and get in there, and from what I hear, they will kill the whole flock just because. So, my chickens have been locked up since Monday."
The minks are spooking the Correll's horses, and Rebecca says she is afraid to let her small dog outside. The situation is disrupting people's lives in this neighborhood, and they realize it may not be over soon.
"I feel bad for the mink. I feel bad for us because it's changed our life. I feel bad for my chickens. My horses weren't spooked until last night, so now I even feel bad for my horses. And I feel bad that my dogs don't have the run of their yard," Correll added.
Northumberland County has established a mink hotline to call if you've found one on your property: 570-988-4217.
Officials ask you only to call the hotline if you are in Northumberland County.
State police are heading the investigation into the break-in at the fur farm.
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