Multiple European countries have banned mink farming on welfare grounds, and advocacy continues to expand these bans globally as the only way to end mink suffering in fur farms.
Mink in fur farms cannot swim, explore, or express the behaviours central to their natural life as semi-aquatic carnivores. The welfare scientific consensus is that current mink farming systems cause significant chronic suffering. National bans address domestic production but not import. A complete solution requires both domestic bans and import restrictions. Consumer behaviour that rejects real fur products reduces the economic demand that sustains mink farming in countries without bans.