Mink farming remains legal in parts of Europe and North America despite persistent evidence of severe welfare problems inherent to keeping highly active, solitary predators in small wire cages.
Mink are solitary, highly active, semi-aquatic predators whose behavioural needs are fundamentally incompatible with cage farming systems. The inability to swim, hunt, patrol territories, or avoid conspecifics causes chronic stress and frustration. High rates of stereotypy in farmed mink are a clear indicator of inadequate welfare — these behaviours represent coping responses to an environment that cannot meet the animal's needs. Scientific consensus has increasingly concluded that humane mink farming is not achievable within current production systems. The rapid international phase-out of mink farming driven by both welfare and disease concerns represents a significant advance for animal welfare.