Denmark to ban mink farming in government U-turn

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1. 1

   Denmark to ban mink farming in government U-turn

   BBC NewsPublished Oct 23, 2026Checked Oct 23, 2026

   “Mink farming will end in Denmark by August 2029 after the government decided to drop plans to pursue an exemption to an EU-wide ban on the practice. Denmark was once the largest producer of mink fur in the world, but the industry has declined due to global bans on fur farming, a decline in the fur trade and an earlier outbreak of a Covid strain in the nation's mink population. The ban is due to come into effect on 7 August next year, and is followed by a two-year transition period to phase out the practice. Danish Nature Minister Christian Rabjerg Madsen said the government had chosen animal welfare. "A business should not continue just because it has existed for a long time. It should also make sense for society, for the economy and for the animals," he said. The Danish government had initially sought an exemption for its mink industry when the EU added the mammal to its list of invasive species in 2025, prohibiting people from keeping them. However, the current coalition government, elected in June 2026, reversed this decision and decided not to proceed with the application on Friday. Social Democrat MP Brigitte Vind said it was "a good day for animal welfare". "It is absolutely the right decision not to apply for a special scheme for mink breeding in Denmark," she said. The Danish Mink Association, which represents breeders, has been approached for comment.”

2. 2

   Preliminary report of an outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 in mink and mink farmers associated with community spread, Denmark, June to November 2020.

   Euro surveillance : bulletin Europeen sur les maladies transmissibles = European communicable disease bulletin (Larsen ePublished Feb 1, 2021Checked Oct 23, 2026

   “In June-November 2020, SARS-CoV-2-infected mink were detected in 290 of 1,147 Danish mink farms. In North Denmark Region, 30% (324/1,092) of people found connected to mink farms tested SARS-CoV-2-PCR-positive and approximately 27% (95% confidence interval (CI): 25-30) of SARS-CoV-2-strains from humans in the community were mink-associated. Measures proved insufficient to mitigate spread. On 4 November, the government ordered culling of all Danish mink. Farmed mink constitute a potential virus reservoir challenging pandemic control.”

3. 3

   Welfare of American mink, red and Arctic foxes, raccoon dog and chinchilla kept for fur production.

   EFSA journal. European Food Safety Authority (EFSA et al.)Published Jul 30, 2025Checked Oct 23, 2026

   “Using information obtained from a review of literature, consultations with stakeholders and consideration by EFSA experts, the SO addresses for each species these WCs along with their underlying hazards and potential preventive or mitigating measures. In all species, Restriction of movement, Inability to perform exploratory or foraging behaviour, and Sensorial under- and overstimulation were selected as the most relevant WCs, sharing common hazards linked to current cage size and barrenness. Species-specific WCs include: soft tissue lesions and integument damage (mink), and handling stress (mink and foxes); locomotory disorders (Arctic fox); group stress (red fox), locomotory disorders and isolation stress (raccoon dog); and inability to perform comfort behaviour, resting problems and predation stress (chinchilla). In the majority of cases, it is concluded that neither prevention nor substantial mitigation of the identified WCs is possible in the current system. The SO also includes conclusions on limited or substantial mitigation measures in the current system and, when not possible, on substantial mitigating measures which would require a change to a different system.”

4. 4

   Emergence and spread of SARS-CoV-2 variants from farmed mink to humans and back during the epidemic in Denmark, June-November 2020.

   PLoS pathogens (Rasmussen et al.)Published Jul 1, 2024Checked Oct 23, 2026

   “Detailed analysis of changes in the virus during replication in mink and, in parallel, in the human population in Denmark, during the same time period, has been performed here. The majority of cases in mink involved variants with the Y453F substitution and the H69/V70 deletion within the Spike (S) protein; these changes emerged early in the outbreak. However, further introductions of the virus, by variants lacking these changes, from the human population into mink also occurred. Based on phylogenetic analysis of viral genome data, we estimate, using a conservative approach, that about 17 separate examples of mink to human transmission occurred in Denmark but up to 59 such events (90% credible interval: (39-77)) were identified using parsimony to count cross-species jumps on transmission trees inferred using Bayesian methods. Using the latter approach, 136 jumps (90% credible interval: (117-164)) from humans to mink were found, which may underlie the farm-to-farm spread. Thus, transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from humans to mink, mink to mink, from mink to humans and between humans were all observed.”

5. 5

   Fur farming (Wikipedia)

   WikipediaChecked Oct 23, 2026

   “Fur farming refers to the breeding and raising of certain types of animals for their fur, primarily for their use in clothing and fashion. Production is concentrated in a relatively small number of countries. As of the 21st century, China has become one of the largest producers of farmed fur, while European countries have seen a decline due to regulatory changes. Most of the world's farmed fur is produced by Chinese and Polish fur-farmers. In 2018, there were 5,000 fur farms in the EU, located across 22 countries; these areas of production collectively accounted for 50% of the global production of farmed fur.”

6. 6

   Mink (Wikipedia)

   WikipediaChecked Oct 23, 2026

   “Mink are dark-coloured, semiaquatic, carnivorous mammals in the genera Mustela and Neogale and part of the family Mustelidae, which also includes weasels, stoats, martens, otters, badgers, and others. There are two extant species referred to as "mink", the American mink and the European mink. The extinct sea mink was related to the American mink but was much larger. The American mink's fur has been highly prized for use in clothing. Their treatment on fur farms has been a focus of animal rights and animal welfare activism. American mink have established feral populations in Europe (including Great Britain and Denmark) and South America. In some cases this happened after the animals were released from mink farms by animal rights activists, in others, mink escaped from captivity by themselves. In the UK, under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, it is illegal to release mink into the wild. In some countries, any live mink caught in traps must be humanely killed.”

7. 7

   Messaging Impacts Public Perspectives Towards Fur Farming in the Northeastern United States.

   Animals : an open access journal from MDPI (Kogan et al.)Published Oct 30, 2025Checked Oct 23, 2026

   “In the United States, however, public attitudes toward fur farming and sales bans remain underexplored. This study surveyed 2014 adults from Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York to assess views on fur farming, acceptability, and support for state-level bans, as well as the influence of message framing. Participants were randomly assigned to one of six message conditions (animal welfare, environmental, public health, economic, faux fur alternatives, or social norms) or a control group. Most respondents supported bans on fur sales and fur from commercial farms (approximately 65% weighted). Messages highlighting animal welfare, environmental impacts, public health, and social norms significantly increased support, while economic and faux fur messages did not. Political affiliation moderated these effects, with independents most responsive. Beliefs about cruelty, environmental harm, and zoonotic risks predicted support, whereas conservatism, opposition to regulation, and consumer rights beliefs predicted opposition. Overall, appeals to ethics, sustainability, and social change appear most effective for advancing fur-related policy initiatives.”