“The shocking video reveals numerous cases of cruel handling of animals: beating minks by angry employees, throwing them against walls, trampling them during their escapes or tossing them into cages while holding them by the tail,” says the European group Open Cages, who released the video to the media and public on December 7. The farm employee who recorded the video was quoted saying, “The hardest parts, were witnessing the murder of animals and the senseless violence. The minks held in cages, scream and squeal. For some it is enough to beat them.”
“The recordings debunk one of the biggest myths of the fur industry – that the breeders take proper care of the minks, because otherwise their fur would be of no use to them,” says Pawel Rawicki of Open Cages. “As you can see, it’s not true.”
The farm in question is allegedly operated by Farm Equipment International, Open Cages says, a large company that owns 14 farms across Poland.
In communication with The Fur-Bearers, Open Cages noted that Poland is the main importer of raw mink skins to Canada. In 2015, 5.5 million Polish mink skins entered Canada; they are traded here by North America Fur Auctions.
The video, photos, and more information is available on the Fur Free Alliance website (contains graphic content). A petition to stop fur farming in Poland is available by clicking here.
The conditions of the mink seen in this content are akin to what has been seen in Canadian fur farms: injured, diseased, and self-mutilating. The only way to end this horrific treatment of fur-bearing animals on factory-style fur farms is to #MakeFurHistory.
Image provided by OpenCages.org
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