Mink farming is among the most welfare-compromising agricultural practices, with scientific consensus that mink's semi-aquatic nature and extensive home ranges cannot be met in cage systems.
The scientific case against mink farming on welfare grounds is among the clearest for any agricultural system. Mink are obligate semiaquatic predators with behavioral and physiological needs for space, water, and active hunting that are fundamentally incompatible with small wire cages. The near-universal development of stereotypic behavior in farmed mink is not an incidental finding but a fundamental indictment of the system: when virtually every individual in a production system develops behavior indicating psychological suffering, the system cannot be reformed into a welfare-acceptable one. The global phase-out of mink farming, accelerated by COVID-19, reflects growing recognition that this is an industry that cannot be made humane through management changes.