PETITION TARGET: Swedish Parliament
UPDATE (3/31/2023): Sweden temporarily suspending mink farming in 2021 due to COVID-19, but restarted practices in 2023. We will continue to urge government officials to pass a permanent ban.
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UPDATE (9/20/21): Lotta Hofverberg, the head of the Animal Disease Control Unit for the Swedish Board of Agriculture (SBA), told Lady Freethinker that a possible ban on fur farming is a political decision outside of the SBA’s control.
“The SBA decide on regulations that describes the details, and we decide on actions to –for example –combat infections in animals, and in some cases also to prevent the infectious diseases,” Hofverberg said. “Therefore, in the beginning of 2021 we decided not to allow the increase of the mink population in Sweden in 2021, as we have seen that minks have been susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 and that the spread of infection in the herds took place effectively.”
Hofverberg added the department carried out a monitoring of existing mink in the country during the past year.
“Based on the results we get, the infection situation in the country and a risk assessment… we will make a decision on which measures we consider to be justified in terms of infection control before 2022,” she added. “However, this decision is yet to be taken.”
We’ve updated our target and sent our petition along to the governmental officials and will continue to monitor this situation.
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Deprived of their natural habitats, captively-bred mink languish on cruel fur farms in cramped, filthy cages from the day they’re born until the day they’re killed.
These solitary creatures pace restlessly, self-mutilate, and fight with their cage mates, all of which are telltale signs of severe psychological distress and trauma.
After a lifetime of cruel confinement and suffering, these defenseless mink are gassed, electrocuted, bludgeoned, or have their necks broken — all so their fur can be ripped from their bodies and manufactured into products.
Sweden — a major fur-producing country — has banned mink breeding until 2022 following COVID-19 outbreaks at mink farms throughout the world, joining a growing list of nations restricting the dangerous industry.
But the risk of zoonotic disease outbreak is always present at these farms, and a permanent ban is the only viable solution. For the sake of both animal welfare and public health, the torturous fur farming industry in Sweden must end.
Sign this petition urging the Swedish Parliament to permanently ban mink farming throughout the country.
