Mink fur farming has been banned in 20+ countries following welfare campaigns and COVID-19 outbreaks on farms. The welfare of remaining farmed mink and the transition pathways for the industry are important case studies in reform implementation.
The mink farming welfare case is among the most clear-cut in animal agriculture: mink are unsuitable for farming because their basic natural behaviour — wide-ranging, solitary, semi-aquatic hunting — cannot be replicated in wire cage systems. The stereotypic pacing rates documented across all commercial mink farming systems indicate that chronic frustration of core behavioural motivations is universal in this industry, not a consequence of poor management. Where bans have been implemented, they have generally produced modest industry disruption alongside significant animal welfare improvement. The ongoing global mink trade — supplying farms in less regulated jurisdictions — means that the total number of mink suffering in farming has not dramatically decreased globally, despite European progress.