A caged arctic fox. Photo by Claire Bass, via Humane Society International.
The Minneapolis City Council adopted a new code last year that prohibits fur stores in the city. This decision follows numerous other U.S. cities and the state of California that have prohibited the sale of new fur products. More than two dozen countries have either voted to ban fur farming or prohibit the raising of particular species for fur, or introduced stricter regulations to curtail the practice.
While the fur industry is on a steep downward trend, tens of millions of wild animals like foxes, mink and raccoon dogs are still suffering in fur factory farms across the world. The majority of them are in China, though about 100 remain in the U.S., including a few mink and fox farms in Minnesota.
Animals killed for fur are confined their entire lives in cramped, unsanitary conditions. Zoologists who studied captive mink found that despite generations of being bred for fur, mink suffer greatly in captivity. They lack any behavioral enrichment, and they suffer in tiny wire cages no bigger than a microwave. These animals go stir-crazy, resulting in self-inflicted wounds and cannibalizing of cage mates, and only death — usually by anal electrocution, gassing or neck breaking — brings an end to their misery.
Now, evidence is mounting that beyond their evident cruelty, fur factory operations pose additional harm to humans and wildlife.
For example, some fur farms operate along — and threaten — important bodies of water.
Water samples collected by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency just a few miles downstream from a fur farm were described by the agency as, “not always suitable for swimming and wading due to high bacteria levels caused by the presence of human or animal waste.” Another report analyzed the water consumption used to produce mink, fox and raccoon dog fur, finding that fur products ranked the worse among all other fashion materials in water consumption, surpassing acrylic by 104 times, polyester by 91 times, and cotton by five times.
Fur production also adds to greenhouse gas emissions. One recent study found that per kilogram, fur generates the most greenhouse gas emissions of any fashion material — 31 times higher than cotton and 25 times higher than polyester.
Lastly, fur factory farming poses serious biosecurity and public health risks. Mink fur farming has produced three different variants and 13 different mutations of COVID, and there have been COVID outbreaks on 450 mink farms in over a dozen countries, including in the U.S. The outbreaks have infected farm workers. Numerous European countries have closed or restricted fur farming operations because of COVID-related concerns.
In the U.S., including in Minnesota, there are essentially no regulations or oversight of these facilities. Most states don’t even require a permit to operate a fur farm, let alone require any regular inspections — and because fur-farmed animals are not raised for consumption, humane slaughter and animal welfare laws do not apply.
Providing basic veterinary care to sick or injured animals is entirely up to the fur farm operator.
Fortunately, Minnesota agencies and legislators are beginning to recognize the need for oversight. Last year, state agencies released a report detailing some of the risks fur farms pose and the need to strengthen regulations to protect public health. The report notes that, “[m]ink are susceptible to and can transmit multiple reportable infectious diseases that can infect people including but not limited to SARS-CoV-2, influenza, leptospirosis, rabies, and toxoplasmosis.”
After the report’s release, state Rep. Rick Hansen, DFL-South St. Paul, and a bipartisan group of legislators passed a bill mandating oversight of fur farming in our state. The new law requires fur farmers to register with the Department of Natural Resources and gives the agency authority to inspect these facilities and test for disease.
Fur factory farms will continue to pose great risks to all of us, however, in the absence of strict regulations requiring proactive testing for infectious diseases; mandatory inspections; environmental contamination limits; and basic standards animal welfare.
With so many options available for environmentally friendly, cruelty-free fashion materials, we simply shouldn’t give fur a pass in light of its substantial harm to animals, the environment and human health.
Minnesota legislators can take steps to prohibit fur factory farming altogether in our state, and in the meantime, at the local level, city councils can eliminate the sale of new fur products, joining many other cities that have already done it.
There should be no vexing or divisive issues in regard to fur, but rather, the simple moral and practical imperatives that lead to the inescapable conclusion that it’s time for us to consign this failing industry to history.