Following the UK's ban on mink farming in 2003, mink welfare science has continued to inform standards internationally. Understanding what mink need remains important as fur farming persists in many countries.
Mink welfare in standard fur farm conditions represents one of the more thoroughly documented examples of welfare compromise in animal agriculture. Wire cage systems deny mink access to water for swimming (their primary locomotor mode in the wild), restrict movement to a tiny fraction of their natural ranging behaviour, and prevent expression of natural hunting and exploration. The result is endemic stereotypic behaviour: circling, pacing, and self-directed behaviours that indicate chronic stress and motivational frustration. The sheer scale - 100 million animals globally - makes this welfare problem numerically enormous. Despite knowing the causes of poor welfare, commercial incentives have prevented the adoption of substantially improved systems in most producing countries. COVID-19 necessitated mass culls of tens of millions of mink in several countries, raising the additional question of killing method welfare.