Mink are sweet, furry little animals that look a lot like ferrets — but unlike ferrets, we don’t tend to turn them into pets. Instead, we slaughter them by the millions in order to rip off their skins and fur, just to make fashionable coats. Yet somehow, it’s gotten even worse than that. The nation of Denmark just announced it plans to kill off every single last mink left alive in their country — which will be 17 million animals. In fact, they already started the cull several weeks ago. Why? Because humans’ insistence on exploiting and harming animals has caused yet another giant public health hazard that threatens our lives.
The devastating truth is that there may not be any way around this particular cull. The deadly and highly-contagious disease COVID-19 has now been found in farmed-mink populations, and it’s mutating into a new form that would likely be untreatable with upcoming vaccines. This whole situation is so horrible, and it might never have emerged if we humans had stopped trying to raise animals as livestock for slaughter, or turn wildlife like bats into meals. The mink trade is directly responsible for what has occurred here. Denmark must not follow up its slaughter of 17 million mink by simply turning around and filling those same cages with millions more. Sign the petition to demand an end to mink fur farming!