Mink are semi-aquatic, highly active predators whose welfare in intensive fur farming systems is chronically compromised. A growing number of countries have banned mink farming on welfare grounds.
Mink fur farming is one of the most widely condemned intensive animal farming practices on welfare grounds. The near-universal prevalence of stereotypic behaviors in farmed mink — pacing, circling, and self-biting that serve no function — is a textbook indicator of severe, chronic welfare compromise. These behaviors reflect the profound mismatch between mink's behavioral biology and farm conditions: they are solitary, wide-ranging predators that naturally swim, hunt, and patrol territories of several kilometers. Wire cage confinement with no water access denies every meaningful natural behavior. The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated an additional dimension — mink farms are disease amplification environments that pose zoonotic risks. The wave of national bans reflects a growing consensus that mink farming cannot be made acceptably humane and should be prohibited.