Fur Factory Farming

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

The conditions under which animals are kept are the same throughout the world. Long rows of barren wire cages in open sided sheds house the animals that are fed with dollops of paste placed on the cage tops. Water is supplied by hose and nipple. A typical mink cage would measure 70cm long by 40 wide and 45 high. Its size is based more on the length of a persons arm than the biological needs of the species. A cage for two Arctic foxes would typically measure 110 cms square.

Some 25 million mink (Mustela vison) and 3 million fox (mostly Arctic fox - Alopex lagopus) are bred each year to meet the world demand for their skins. More than half the world’s mink are bred in Scandinavia where there are more than 10,000 fur factory farms. In 1995 9.4 million mink came from Denmark alone, 5 million from the USSR/Baltics and 2.8 million from the USA. Two thirds of all fox bred for fur come from Finland.

Although mink and Arctic fox are the main species bred in fur factory farms others include red fox, sable, coypu, and chinchilla. US breeders are experimenting with beaver, lynx, raccoon, wolverine and coyote whilst in Eastern Europe even domestic cats are being reared for their skins.

Mink and fox are unique amongst farm animals. They are highly inquisitive and intelligent carnivorous predators. Agricultural legislation has been drawn up for herd or flock animals like cows, sheep or hens and so is inappropriate for fox and mink.

In 1989 the British Farm Animal Welfare Council described mink and fox as ‘essentially wild animals’ and expressed its disapproval of their farming stating that ‘the systems employed in the farming of mink and fox do not satisfy some of the most basic criteria ‘for pro tecting the welfare of farm animals’. In November 2000 the Government recognised this and banned fur farming in England and Wales. The Fur Farming (Prohibition) Act 2000 was introduced on moral grounds. Scotland and Northern Ireland are expected to introduce their own legislation in the near future.

In the wild, mink defend and patrol riverbank territories of up to 2.5 miles in length whilst Arctic fox range over vast areas of up to 15,000 acres.

Mink are semi-aquatic but in the fur factory farm have no access to water in which to swim. Experiments have shown, however, that captive mink will go to enormous efforts to reach water to swim in.

Fur factory farms follow a regular calendar. Animals are mated in February, give birth in May, weaned 6-7 weeks later and each year’s offspring are killed in November at the age of just 7 months.

Animals kept in fur factory farms show clear signs of stress. They perform stereotyped behaviour, mutilate themselves, sucking or biting their own tails. Some even resort to cannibalism.

The killing of animals on fur factory farms is carried out immediately after their first winter’s moult when their fur is at its best and any defects have disappeared. Slaughter methods include gassing (using vehicle exhaust), neck breaking, lethal injection and electrocution (using electrodes clamped in the mouth and inserted in the rectum). Prior to the ban on fur farming, in the UK no qualifications or training were required for those carrying out the killing.

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