An undercover investigation of a fur farm in Canada has exposed heartbreaking animal suffering, and the sad reality for mink who are raised and killed for their fur.
The investigation was conducted by Last Chance for Animals (LCA) at the Millbank Fur Farm Ltd., in Ontario, where more than 40,000 mink are housed.
According to LCA, this investigation, which was conducted over the course of a year,is the first in-depth undercover probe of a farm that produces pelts for the Canadian fur industry – which kills more than three million animals annually for nothing more than their fur.
In addition to exposing the inherent cruelty of keeping fur bearing animals in factory-farm style conditions, the investigation uncovered unquestionable suffering after finding multiple mink with horrifying injuries that were left untreated, and living conditions that left them without proper shelter and food. Despite a clear need for medical care of multiple mink, they were illegally denied treatment – a veterinarian was never even seen at the farm during the entire length of the investigation.
Even though issues were brought to management’s attention, nothing was done.
For mink, fur farms are a special kind of hell. In the wild, they’re mostly solitary animals who need to roam, hunt, den and swim. Sadly, the demand for their fur has left them confined in such misery and frustration that causes enough psychological stress to lead them to self-mutilate, or resort to cannibalism.
Sadly, for all furbearing animals who are exploited by this industry, they spend their short lives being denied everything that would enable them to thrive, only to meet gruesome death via anal electrocution, gassing or neck-breaking before they’re skinned for a luxury product no one actually needs.
“As is the case with many industries that exploit animals, there is little oversight and few laws that protect animals,” said Hayden Hunter, LCA Director of Investigations. “We want the world to know about the cruelty involved in the fur industry.”
Warning: Video contains graphic content.
LCA submitted a formal complaint with this evidence to the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (OSPCA). The organization launched its own investigation and has since filed 14 animal cruelty charges against the farm for causing and allowing animals to be in distress, failing to provide veterinary care, failing to provide adequate and sanitary living conditions, and failing to provide for general welfare.
“There is no excuse for failing to treat animals humanely,” said Jennifer Bluhm, Deputy Chief Inspector, Ontario SPCA. “No one is exempt from the law when it comes to providing for the animals in their care.”
Hopefully this investigation and the subsequent charges that were filed because of it will help raise even more awareness about how cruel and unnecessary this industry really is.
While we’ve celebrated many victories as countries close their doors to fur farms and their products, and designers eschew their products, there’s clearly a lot more that needs to be done to protect furbearing animals from this industry.
TAKE ACTION!
You can help by signing and sharing the petition urging the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs to close this fur farm down.
This article was first published by Care2.com on 17 May 2018.
We invite you to share your opinion whether fur farms should be banned and closed down? Please vote and leave your comments at the bottom of this page.
Loading ...Thank you for voting.
Editorial Comment: The purpose of this poll is to highlight important wildlife conservation issues and to encourage discussion on ways to stop wildlife crime. By leaving a comment and sharing this post you can help to raise awareness. Thank you for your support.
Leave a Reply