Fur farming is the practice of keeping fur-bearing animals captive and killing them for their fur. Large factory farms can keep upwards of tens of thousands of animals locked in small, wire cages, only for them to be killed for luxury fashion products no one needs. And yes, this still happens in Canada.
While many countries have banned the practice of farming animals for their fur, it is still legal in Canada, with active fur farms operating from coast to coast in Canada. British Columbia is the only province that has banned mink farming (only one chinchilla fur farm remains in the province).
Despite the fact that fur farming is still legal in Canada, the practice is overwhelmingly opposed by Canadians. Click on the questions below to explore various polls that provide insight into what Canadians think about fur farming. These public opinion surveys demonstrate that the majority of Canadians do not believe that fur farming is humane, and in fact, they would support a national ban on the practice.
In a 2022 survey commissioned by The Fur-Bearers and conducted by independent polling firm Research Co., 74% of Canadians support banning fur farming in Canada. 16% do not support a national ban on fur farming, and 10% are unsure.
In a 2023 survey commissioned by The Fur-Bearers and conducted by independent polling firm Research Co., 65% of Canadians disagreed with the claim that fur farming is humane. 26% believe it’s humane, with 9% not sure.
In an August 2023 survey conducted by Research Co., 77% of Canadians oppose killing animals for their fur, 18% of Canadians support killing animals for their fur, 5% are unsure.
Mink are the most commonly farmed animal for their fur in Canada. According to guidelines developed by the National Farm Animal Care Council (NFACC), the industry standard method to kill mink is forcing them into gas chambers, noting that this is a humane method to kill mink for their pelts.
In a 2023 survey commissioned by The Fur-Bearers and conducted by independent poling firm Research Co., 70% of Canadians do not believe that it’s humane to kill animals using gas chambers, 21% believe gas chambers are humane, with 9% not sure.
Foxes are the second most commonly farmed animal for their fur in Canada. According to guidelines developed by the (NFACC), the industry standard method to kill foxes is via anal electrocution. For this method and gas chambers, NFACC and the fur farm industry refer to these as “euthanasia”.
In a 2023 survey commissioned by The Fur-Bearers and conducted by independent poling firm Research Co., 68% of Canadians reject the idea that gas chambers are “euthanasia”, 22% believe euthanasia is the appropriate term, with 10% not sure.
For anal electrocution, 76% of Canadians do not believe it is considered “euthanasia”, 14% believe euthanasia is the appropriate term, with 10% not sure.
