A mink walks in front a farm near Santiago de Compostela, northwestern Spain, in this 2006 file photo.CABALAR
As many as a few thousand minks could be on the loose in Quebec after someone broke into a fur farm and released animals.
The farm is at the heart of allegations of animal mistreatment.
Provincial police say they are investigating after the overnight release of the minks.
Spokeswoman Joyce Kemp says the owner noticed this morning that the minks had been released from their pens.
A spokesman for the Forests, Wildlife and Parks Department says the exact number of missing minks is unclear but that there could be a few thousand.
Animal advocates like the Montreal SPCA and Humane International Canada had called on the government last week to seize the animals because of their poor health and substandard living conditions.
The province chose to keep the animals under close supervision at the facility and work with the owner.
Police are meeting with the farms owner in a municipality near St-Hyacinthe, Que.