Mustelids kept in captivity — as pets or in fur farms — have highly active, predatory natures that create specific welfare challenges in confined settings.
Mustelid welfare across contexts — pet ferrets, fur farm mink, captive otters — shares a common theme: these are highly active, cognitively engaged predatory animals whose natural behavior repertoires are profoundly incompatible with confinement in small enclosures. Ferrets kept in cages without substantial daily free-roaming time become bored, overweight, and behaviorally abnormal. Mink in fur farms exhibit high rates of stereotypy and self-harm reflecting the severe mismatch between their highly territorial, active natures and the small wire cages of fur production. The welfare case against fur farming and for welfare-positive pet ferret keeping both rest on the same behavioral science.