Mink on fur farms develop stereotypic behaviors at extremely high rates due to the fundamental incompatibility of their biology with caged conditions.
Mink stereotypic behavior is perhaps the clearest evidence in farm animal welfare of chronic psychological suffering. The near-universal prevalence on farms demonstrates that the welfare problem is not management-dependent but inherent to caging a semi-aquatic, wide-ranging carnivore. Phase-outs represent honest recognition that mink farming cannot be made humane within cage systems.