Minks killed for their fur are confined to crowded, dirty cages for their entire lives. In the wild, minks are semi-aquatic and solitary. Trapped in wire cages, they’re unable to engage in their most basic natural behaviors. Many minks engage in self-mutilation like biting their feet and tails and obsessive pacing.
Mink farms don’t just hurt minks. Overcrowded and unsanitary, mink farms are a breeding ground for zoonotic diseases like COVID-19 and avian flu.
Most people don’t support the use of fur in fashion. But your taxpayer dollars are keeping the industry alive in the US through loan forgiveness and compensation for mink farms. It’s time for this cruel industry to be shut down.
The Mink VIRUS Act (HR 2185) would end mink farming in the US. Sponsored by Rep. Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), the bill creates a one-year phaseout for mink farms and creates a grant program to help operators transition out of the industry.