British Columbia has decided that it will be putting a ban on mink farming due to Covid and general health concerns.
There is already a permanent ban on breeding mink, limiting the abilities of mink farming areas. Now, the ban on the entire practice of mink farming will be put into place by 2023, causing all mink farms to close by 2025.
B.C. Agriculture Minister Lana Popham said, “This decision follows the recommendations of public health officials and infectious disease experts about managing the threat of the virus for workers at the farms and the broader public.
Our government will work with affected farmers and workers to help them pursue other farming, business, or job opportunities that support their families.”
Recent data identified the potential for the SARS-CoV-2 virus to be mutated in mink, thereby allowing it to become passable between animals and humans.
After serious surveillance on the mink farms, it was revealed that three farms had mink that tested positive for Covid. Workers at two farms also tested positive.
There has long been a demand for the mink fur farm industry to be banned out of concerns of animal cruelty.
However, these findings showed the dangers that the industry also poses to public health.
Fur farms are extremely cruel and should have been stopped long ago. Hopefully, other places will catch on and start to ban mink farms as well.
Sign this petition to demand an end to mink fur farming!
This article by Abigail Jane was first published by OneGreenPlanet on 9 November 2021. Lead Image Source : Jo-Anne McArthur/Unsplash.
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