Between three to four million minks are killed in the U.S. each year, with Wisconsin being the top “producing” state followed by Utah, Idaho, Oregon and Minnesota.
Caged Mink on a fur farm...
On these farms, millions of wild animals like minks, foxes, rabbits,
chinchillas, and raccoon dogs are bred and kept in terrible
conditions. They are then killed using brutal methods, all in the
name of fashion.
Minks and foxes are two of the most common species on farms. The
North American Fur Auction, which is the largest auction house in
North America, “currently sells over ten million ranch-raised mink
pelts annually.” The fur pelts come from North American and European
fur farms.
The U.S. is the fifth largest mink farming country in the world. Of
the roughly 400 fur farms in the U.S., around 275 of them are mink
farms and they can be found in at least 23 states. Between three to
four million minks are killed in the U.S. each year, with Wisconsin
being the top “producing” state followed by Utah, Idaho, Oregon, and
Minnesota. Compared to mink, the U.S. has a smaller number of farms
raising foxes, with 56 farms in 10 states. Finland is considered the
world’s leading “producer” of fox pelts, killing around four million
foxes per year.
Farm Cruelty
Although raised on farms, minks, foxes, and other furbearing species
are not tame and do not adapt to captive environments. They have the
same instincts as those in the wild but are not given an opportunity
to act the way they would naturally. Most fur-bearing animals are
loners by nature and roam huge territories when in the wild. On a
farm, they are unable to climb, hunt, swim, or hide.
Stuffed into tiny wire cages, animals live side by side with their
fellow animals in a permanent state of stress and fear. The cages
are typically suspended in long rows roughly two feet above the
ground. Feces and urine fall through the wire mesh, to prevent the
fur being dirtied. These animals have a very sensitive sense of
smell and spend their lives subjected to an unbearable stench. Their
sensitive paws are frequently injured because of the mesh floor of
the cage, leading to infected wounds and missing limbs.
Trapped in these horrid conditions for their entire lives, the
majority of these animals demonstrate severe behavioral disorders,
including cannibalism and self-harm. Then, after months of
vegetating in the cages, the animals are killed by gassing,
neck-breaking, anal electrocution, lethal injection, and by being
skinned alive.