Poland, Europe’s top producer just banned mink farming, signaling the deep unpopularity and associated biohazards of mink farming.
WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Reps. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla. and Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn. introduced the MINKS are Superspreaders Act, a bipartisan bill that would prohibit mink farming in the United States. The bill, strongly supported by Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy, would also authorize a voluntary federal buy-out program to help the remaining 50 or so mink-farm operators transition out of the trade.
This effort comes at a time when the global mink-fur industry is collapsing. Recently, Poland, currently Europe’s largest mink producer, adopted a national phase out of fur farming, joining more than 20 nations across Europe to ban or limit fur farming. The turn away from fur reflects mounting public health concerns, economic decline, and growing opposition to inhumane treatment of these wild animals.
“There is a very good reason that mink farming has been in decline for decades: consumers are embracing fashion choices that do not involve factory farming of wild animals and killing them for their pelts,” said Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy. “Add in that mink farms are incubators of dangerous diseases, and it makes very good sense for Congress to act now and wind down an animal-killing enterprise that has outlived its usefulness.”
Farmed mink are biologically prone to infectious and contagious diseases; their weak immune defenses and high density, stressful confinement and poor living conditions make them especially vulnerable to viral outbreaks. During the COVID-19 pandemic, farms around the world saw documented outbreaks — in some cases leading to mutated viruses spilling back to humans. More recently, mink have shown susceptibility to highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1), raising urgent concerns among public-health and veterinary experts.
“Mink farms are inhumane, unsafe and unnecessary,” said Rep. Vern Buchanan, Co-Chair of the Animal Protection Caucus. “These operations fueled dangerous disease transmission during the COVID-19 pandemic and continue to pose a major risk to families and frontline workers. With safer and more affordable alternatives available, it’s time to end this abusive practice, protect Americans’ health and help farmers transition responsibly.”
“Factory farming of mink is outdated and dangerous,” said Rep. Rosa DeLauro. “Mink operations can incubate and spread new disease variants, and unsanitary and overcrowded cages create a perfect storm for public health threats. At the same time, with virtually no domestic market, the U.S. mink industry has been in steady decline for years. Now is the time to prioritize public health and for this legislation to become law. I urge all of my colleagues to support this bipartisan legislation.”
“Mink are wild solitary carnivores, not domesticated herding livestock,” said Dr. Jim Keen, D.VM, Ph.D., director of veterinary sciences at the Center for a Humane Economy. “Keeping them in cramped cages with thousands of conspecifics strips them of every natural instinct and causes immense psychological stress, physical suffering and numerous infectious and non-infectious diseases.”
Dr. Keen authored a 100-page report on mink farming and zoonotic disease risk as well as a brief Nov 2025 report on the decline of the US mink farming industry.
Animal Wellness Action urges swift passage of the MINKS are Superspreaders Act — to protect public health, prevent future outbreaks, and end the last vestiges of an industry that has no place in modern society.
Learn more by visiting Animal Wellness Action’s “Rethink Mink” campaign page: here