According to an article in the Chronicle Herald, several homeowners appealed their property assessments, shortly after they were received in September, 2013. Retiree Paul Mazier said that since the nearby fur farm opened for business four years ago “we’ve had some problems with the smell and seagulls.”
The massive amounts of waste created by the thousands of mink on a fur farm, in conjunction with the feed required to keep the carnivores alive, attracts seagulls in huge numbers, typically unseen outside of a garbage dump.
Mazier said he and the seven other homeowners were looking for a 25 per cent reduction; they received 20 per cent, which was satisfactory. He also noted that other residents in western Nova Scotia – where a swarm of mink farms have cropped up – will likely seek similar reductions, which could begin affecting the bottom line of municipalities.
APFA is in agreement with Mazier’s analysis. While fur farms have generated revenue for the province, they have not created long-term, sustainable jobs (fur farms are seasonal and typically offer part-time, minimum wage positions with no pensions or benefits). Fur farming is a gross misuse of natural resources, from which the effects will be felt long after the industry has died.
Fur farms are creating a brief reprieve for the money-thirsty province of Nova Scotia. As more residents learn the truth about fur farms and as the environmental science against fur farming grows, we believe the government will be forced to re-evaluate their stance of these slaughter houses. We can only hope it happens before too much more damage is done.
