Mink Welfare and COVID-19 Biosecurity

The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated how mink farming creates biosecurity risks for humans while causing severe animal welfare problems, accelerating global bans on the industry.

Key Facts

SARS-CoV-2 spread rapidly through mink farms in the Netherlands, Denmark, and Spain in 2020
Denmark culled its entire national mink population of 17 million animals in November 2020
Mink can act as a reservoir for SARS-CoV-2 variants that may re-infect humans
The pandemic accelerated legislative bans on mink farming in multiple countries
Mass culling operations caused enormous animal suffering through rushed, often inhumane methods

Welfare Considerations

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the intersection of mink farm welfare and public health in acute terms. The intensive confinement conditions that cause welfare suffering also create ideal conditions for pathogen amplification and mutation. Mass culling operations ordered under emergency public health measures caused suffering on an enormous scale, with reports of inadequate stunning and prolonged deaths. The pandemic strengthened the case for mink farming bans on both welfare and biosecurity grounds. Countries that had already banned mink farming avoided both the animal welfare catastrophe of mass culling and the public health risk of mink-adapted viral variants.

What You Can Do

Support legislative bans on mink farming that prevent future welfare and biosecurity crises
Avoid purchasing mink fur products that sustain an industry with documented welfare and health risks
Advocate for pandemic preparedness planning that includes livestock farming biosecurity reform
Support farmers transitioning from mink to alternative livelihoods with economic assistance
Share information about the welfare and biosecurity case for mink farming bans