Born Free USA is delighted to report the reintroduction of the Mink VIRUS Act (H.R. 2185) in Congress, marking an important step towards ending mink farming in the interests of animal welfare and human health. Championed by Representative Espaillat (D-NY 13th District), the bill seeks to ban mink farming and implement a buy-out program to support mink farmers in their transition out of the fur industry.
While the welfare concerns for animals on mink farms are significant and impossible to mitigate, the bill focuses on the dangers to public health posed by this cruel – and dangerous – practice. Mink have upper respiratory systems that share similarities with that of our own. This makes mink perfect vehicles for viruses to mutate and pass to humans. We saw this risk become a reality during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the virus impacted millions of mink worldwide and evidence of spread from mink to humans was documented.
Since that time, the HN51 strain of avian influenza – a virus that experts fear may become the cause of the next pandemic – has been found in tens of thousands of mink. Using lessons learned from the tragedy of COVID-19, which has claimed more than 7 million human lives and those of countless millions of animals, it is vital that we do all we can to prevent the next pandemic by taking early action. This includes shutting down the risk posed by mink farms.
“The threat to animal welfare and public safety posed by mink fur farming is not going to go away and each year that this unnecessary, cruel, and dangerous practice is allowed to continue, the more animals suffer, and the more likely new disease outbreaks become.
Having endured the tragedy of COVID-19, and with the risks posed by avian influenza – which has already been found in mink farms – now becoming frighteningly clear, surely it is time for humankind to take these threats seriously and do all we can to protect animals and humans alike from harm. No fur coat is worth the suffering caused by fur farming, and no fashion item can justify the risk of a new pandemic.”
– Angela Grimes, Born Free USA CEO
Meanwhile, the fur industry is in freefall, with sales plummeting by 85% in the last decade. Thanks to significantly decreased consumer demand and increases in fashion designers and retailers turning to fur alternatives, fur farming is a dying practice. More than 25 countries have implemented (or committed to) fur farming bans or have put in place significant restrictions which create de facto bans. With the proposed buy-out clause of the new legislation providing resources for fur farmers to move away from the practice, the Mink VIRUS Act will also provide timely support to those who want to get out of an industry that appears on the brink of collapse.
TAKE ACTION NOW
You can support the passage of the Mink VIRUS Act by contacting your representative today to ask them to become a co-sponsor of this important initiative.
Learn More about Disease Spread on Mink Farms
To learn more about the dangers mink farms pose to public health, please see Born Free USA’s 2024 report, Risky Business: The Dangers of Zoonotic Disease in the Fur Trade.
