A McHenry County woman has been bitten by a mink, possibly one of about 5,000 animals that were released by vandals from a mink farm near Crystal Lake earlier this month, according to county health officials.
The woman is receiving rabies vaccination shots as a precaution, according to Norma Spitzbart, animal control coordinator for the McHenry County Department of Health. The woman was not identified because of state medical confidentiality laws, Spitzbart said.
“Her dog found a mink, and when she went to pull the dog away the mink jumped forward and bit her on the finger,” Spitzbart said.
She said the woman is receiving a series of five shots in the arm to treat rabies, which is virtually 100 percent fatal if not counteracted in time. The county health department issued a reminder to the public Friday to beware of mink.
Spitzbart said it’s not known whether the mink that bit the McHenry County woman was a wild animal or an escaped farm-raised one. She said the woman lives within about two miles of the farm that was vandalized.
The mink were released over the weekend of Oct. 4 and 5 from the Frye Fur Farm, in unincorporated Crystal Lake. The raid is presumed to be the work of animal rights activists. Nobody has taken credit for the raid.
Vandals released about 5,000 mink and stole the farm’s pedigree records. All but about 400 of the animals were recovered.
McHenry County Sheriff’s police, with help from the FBI, are investigating the break-in but so far have not identified any suspects, said sheriff’s investigator Margaret Andrews.