Mink farming is one of the most contested forms of intensive animal agriculture, with over 60 million mink killed annually for fur globally.
Mink farming welfare evidence is unambiguous: standard barren wire cage systems cause extreme psychological suffering. Mink are solitary, territorial hunters adapted for active foraging over large ranges. Cage confinement produces severe stereotypies in the vast majority of individuals. The pandemic demonstrated that mink farms are also significant biosafety risks, capable of harboring and mutating respiratory viruses. The industry has been retreating in Europe; the welfare and biosafety case for its global phase-out is strong.