Mink fur farming is being banned across an increasing number of countries following evidence of poor welfare and the pandemic risks associated with mink in intensive settings.
Mink in standard fur farm conditions experience chronic deprivation. As semi-aquatic animals, they are strongly motivated to swim — a behaviour impossible in wire cages. The repetitive pacing behaviours observed in the majority of farmed mink are indicators of profound psychological suffering driven by frustrated motivation. Battery cage confinement also causes physical problems: foot injuries from wire floors, dental problems, and fighting injuries from proximity to other mink. The combination of severe welfare evidence and pandemic biosecurity concerns has accelerated an international phase-out that was already driven by welfare concerns and declining consumer demand for fur.