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BREAKING: The USDA just announced that mink at two mink farms in Iowa have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2.
Mink in Denmark and the Netherlands previously tested positive, resulting in the killing of 500,000+ mink on fur farms there.
These are the first U.S. mink cases.
Mink in Denmark and the Netherlands previously tested positive, resulting in the killing of 500,000+ mink on fur farms there.
These are the first U.S. mink cases.
For a detailed look at the mink cases in Europe, read my colleague @Dina_Maron's story from June: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2020/06/covid19-forces-mink-farm-end-netherlands/
As Dina's story highlights, the Netherlands' mink farming industry was set to end in 2024. Now it's ending imminently.
How will the new outbreak affect U.S. mink farming? Unlike in the Netherlands, there's never been any movement towards ending fur farming on a national level.
How will the new outbreak affect U.S. mink farming? Unlike in the Netherlands, there's never been any movement towards ending fur farming on a national level.
Last year, California became the first state to ban the manufacture and sale of fur products. Its laws also make fur farming cost-prohibitive.
In the U.S., the strongest animal protection laws usually happen slowly, on the state level. My story on this: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2019/07/first-time-animal-welfare-laws-in-us-states/
In the U.S., the strongest animal protection laws usually happen slowly, on the state level. My story on this: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2019/07/first-time-animal-welfare-laws-in-us-states/
Point: The U.S. is a very different beast than Denmark and the Netherlands. It was relatively easy for the Netherlands to shutter its industry because it was already set to shut. In the U.S., there is no precedent OR political momentum. And U.S. has a v. powerful fur farm lobby.
Animal suffering on fur farms around the world is significant and well-documented. Animals are typically confined to tiny wire cages for their entire lives, often hundreds stacked together. Self-mutilation is common. Read this story from @Rachael_Bale: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2016/08/wildlife-china-fur-farming-welfare/
And for more on the science of SARS-CoV-2 transmission & mink farms, check out @Dina_Maron's great thread: https://twitter.com/Dina_Maron/status/1295415368090103815?s=20
CORRECTION: Someone just pointed out that I typed Iowa instead of Utah! So sorry for typo. It's UTAH. USDA press released here: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/newsroom/stakeholder-info/sa_by_date/sa-2020/sa-08/sare-cov-2-mink
