Liberated Minks pursued by farmers

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Farmers and other locals were chasing thousands of minks let out of their cages at a fur farm in western Finland early on Friday by suspected animal rights activists.




About half the 2,500 minks released from unlocked cages in Mustasaari, 400 km (250 miles) northwest of Helsinki, had been recaptured by 1000 GMT, but it could take several days to round up the others, police said.

"We have no firm suspects at the moment. But the letters EVR were spray-painted on a feed silo at the farm. In this connection it usually means Animal Liberation Front in Finnish," Chief Inspector Mika Jylha told Reuters, but added: "Of course, anyone could write that."

Mannequin theives nabbed

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Two men are charged with commercial burglary for stealing a mannequin and the Budweiser shorts it was wearing.

Hattiesburg police tracked down Jeremy Carothers and Josh Ashleyon on Friday.

Police say they broke a window at JMH Graphics and snatched the brown mannequin.

Police say they solved the crime when they went to Carothers' home and noticed the mannequin, minus its head, inside a truck parked there.

A police spokesman said the mannequin's clothing was found inside the home.

Carothers, a 22-year-old Hattiesburg man, and Ashley, a 24-year-old Wesson man, were both arrested and charged with commercial burglary.

It's Not The Size Of The Dog In The Fight

MASONVILLE, Colo. - Zoey the Chihuahua, doesn't appear too intimidating, but when a rattlesnake threatened her owners' 1-year-old grandson, she was quick to display her inner-wolf.
Booker West was splashing his hands in the birdbath of his grandparents' northern Colorado back yard when the snake slithered up to the youngster, rattled and attempted to strike. Five-pound Zoey sprung to action and protectively jumped in the way and took the bites.
"She got in between Booker and the snake, and that's when I heard her cries," Monty Long, Booker's grandfather said.
The dog required treatment for her wounds, and it appeared she might not survive the bites she suffered earlier in the month. Now she prances about.
"These little bitty dogs, they just don't really get credit," Booker's grandma Denise Long told reporters.

Gators Love A Good Burger Too!

VENICE, Florida -- A man who lost his golf ball in a course pond nearly lost a lot more when a nearly 11-foot alligator latched on to his arm and pulled him in the water, according to authorities.
Bruce Burger, 50, was trying to retrieve his ball Monday from a pond on the sixth hole at the Lake Venice Golf Club.
The alligator latched on to Burger's right forearm and pulled him in the pond, said Gary Morse, a spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Burger used his left arm to beat the reptile until it freed him.
"I saw him reach down to get his ball and he yelled" for help, said Janet Pallo, who was playing the fifth hole and ran over to drive the man to the clubhouse.
Burger, from Lenoir City, Tennessee, was taken to a hospital but was not seriously injured, Morse said Tuesday.
It took seven Fish and Wildlife officers an hour to trap the one-eyed alligator, which measured 10 feet, 11 inches, Morse said.
The pond at the sixth hole has a "Beware of Alligator" sign.
"Unfortunately, that's part of Florida," course general manager Rod Parry said. "There's wildlife in these ponds."