Mink in fur farms exhibit high rates of stereotypic behaviour indicating chronic welfare compromise. Scientific evidence supports a welfare basis for legislative prohibition.
The scientific welfare evidence for mink fur farming is unambiguous — standard cage conditions cause chronic frustration of fundamental behavioural needs, leading to widespread stereotypic behaviour and abnormal behavioural profiles. The Five Freedoms framework is systematically violated in battery cage systems. Even enriched cage systems with water access and nest boxes show markedly elevated stereotypy rates compared to wild mink. This evidence formed the basis for bans in over 20 European countries. Countries maintaining fur farms face increasing legal and societal pressure to either ban or impose welfare standards incompatible with commercial viability.