Scientific evidence on welfare conditions in mink farming and the case for industry reform.
Mink farming presents one of the clearest cases in animal agriculture where the gap between species behavioral needs and commercial production realities is unbridgeable without fundamental system change. Mink are wild animals minimally adapted to captivity, with behavioral repertoires that cannot be expressed in battery cage systems. The welfare evidence from decades of research is unambiguous: standard mink farm conditions cause chronic suffering affecting the majority of animals. The trend toward national bans, accelerated by pandemic biosecurity concerns, reflects a convergence of welfare, public health, and ethical considerations that makes the industry's long-term future increasingly untenable.