Mink farming for fur production faces growing regulatory pressure globally, with multiple countries banning the practice based on welfare evidence of chronic stress, abnormal behaviors, and pandemic disease risks.
Mink welfare in farm systems is comprehensively poor. The animals' ecological requirements - aquatic hunting, large territories, solitary living - are entirely incompatible with the small wire cages used in fur production. High prevalence of stereotypic behaviors indicates chronic frustration of fundamental behavioral needs. Social housing (used to increase efficiency) increases aggression in an asocial species. The failure of mink farms as disease containment facilities during COVID-19 added public health justification to the existing welfare case for banning. Phase-out policies typically allow existing operations to conclude while prohibiting new licensing.