Mink farming for fur confines semi-aquatic predators in small wire cages, raising profound welfare concerns that have driven bans across many European countries.
Mink are intelligent, active predators whose natural behaviours are fundamentally incompatible with intensive cage farming. Denied water for swimming, space for ranging, and complex environments for foraging, farmed mink develop severe stereotypies that are recognised indicators of psychological suffering. Frustration of natural behaviours, social stress from high-density housing, and fear responses during handling contribute to chronic stress. Injuries from cage wire, cannibalism in overcrowded conditions, and the acute suffering of gassing during slaughter compound welfare harms. Consumer decisions and policy advocacy remain the most effective levers for reducing these harms.