Mink farming for fur has been banned in over 20 countries following welfare concerns. COVID-19 mass culling events accelerated phase-out decisions and highlighted the systemic welfare issues in mink production.
Mink are semi-aquatic, wide-ranging carnivores whose behavioral needs are fundamentally incompatible with commercial cage farming. Stereotypic behaviors in farmed mink — estimated to affect 30-50% of animals — indicate chronic psychological distress from inability to express natural movement, swimming, and hunting behaviors. The repeated finding that mink strongly prefer water access in preference tests, combined with the near-universal denial of this access in commercial farming, represents a core welfare failure. Country-by-country bans represent recognition that mink farming cannot be conducted humanely within economically viable parameters.