Mink & Fur
Mink:APandemicRiskSoldasFashion
Mink farms confine semi-aquatic wild predators in stacked wire cages. They are also documented incubators for novel coronavirus variants — and increasingly, governments are shutting them down.
Welfare
Wild Animals in Cages
Mink are solitary, semi-aquatic carnivores with home territories of several kilometres along rivers and lakes. On fur farms, they are confined for their entire lives in wire cages approximately 70 cm long — and killed at around six months by anal electrocution or gassing to preserve their pelts.
In 2020, COVID-19 outbreaks in Danish mink farms led to the culling of 17 million mink and the discovery of a novel mink-adapted coronavirus variant capable of jumping back to humans. Denmark — once the world's largest mink producer — has now permanently banned fur farming.
The Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, the UK, Norway, Israel, Slovenia, North Macedonia, and California have all banned fur farming. The EU is currently considering an EU-wide ban backed by a citizens' initiative with over 1.5 million signatures.
Pandemic risk
Fur Farms as Viral Reservoirs
Densely caged carnivores are an ideal mixing vessel for respiratory viruses. SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks have been documented in mink farms in Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain, Poland, the US, Greece and others — with confirmed mink-to-human transmission.
A 2023 outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza on a Spanish mink farm demonstrated, for the first time, sustained mammal-to-mammal H5N1 transmission — a development the WHO described as 'concerning' for pandemic preparedness.
We don't need new arguments to act differently. We need new defaults.
Fashion
Fur Is No Longer Fashion
Gucci, Chanel, Prada, Burberry, Versace, Armani, Michael Kors, Calvin Klein, Coach, Macy's, Nordstrom, and most major luxury and department-store brands have ended fur sales. London, Helsinki and Amsterdam Fashion Weeks are fur-free.
If you are buying a winter coat, choose recycled synthetic, wool-blend or shearling-alternative materials. The market has moved.
Mink & Fur
Try one plant-based week.
The Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, the UK, Norway, Israel, Slovenia, North Macedonia, and California have all banned fur farming. The EU is currently considering an EU-wide ban backed by a citizens' initiative with over 1.5 million signatures.
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