Mink farming involves keeping highly active, semi-aquatic carnivores in small wire cages. The welfare problems are severe and have driven fur bans in many countries.
Mink farming is among the most welfare-compromising forms of animal agriculture. Wild mink have home ranges of several kilometers and spend significant time swimming, hunting, and exploring. Cage confinement prevents virtually all natural behavior. The high prevalence of stereotypic pacing in farmed mink is widely accepted as evidence of severe chronic stress. Attempts to enrich wire cage systems have shown limited success in reducing stereotypies. The COVID-19 pandemic, which spread from farmed mink to humans, accelerated the push for bans in several countries. Consumer-driven decline in fur demand is the most direct market signal driving the industry toward collapse in many regions.