Mink farming involves keeping highly active, semi-aquatic carnivores in barren wire cages throughout their lives. Scientific evidence strongly indicates that conventional mink farming fails to meet the animals' basic welfare needs.
Mink farming presents some of the most intractable welfare challenges in animal agriculture. The species is poorly suited to captive conditions: wild mink swim several kilometers daily, have territories of many hectares, and hunt live prey. Cage confinement prevents nearly all natural behavior. Stereotypies and self-injurious behaviors are widespread and indicate poor mental health. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the additional public health risks of concentrated mink farming, as the species can act as a reservoir for mutated viruses. Many veterinary and welfare scientists argue that mink welfare cannot be adequately addressed without fundamentally changing the production system, supporting the case for phase-outs.