“I think the fur farming industry globally should be closed down.”
A new study published in the journal Nature has revealed a number of high-risk viruses circulating on fur farms in China. Fur farms are breeding grounds for zoonotic diseases, and this research further highlights the pandemic risks of farming animals for their fur.
Fur-farmed animals, such as minks and foxes, are known to be hosts for a number of human viruses including influenza and SARS-CoV-2. The study, Farmed fur animals harbour viruses with zoonotic spillover potential, investigated the viruses circulating on fur farms by testing hundreds of animal samples across China’s fur farm sector. The researchers identified, “125 virus species, including 36 that were novel and 39 at potentially high risk of cross-species transmission, including zoonotic spillover.”
These findings demonstrate the risk that fur farming poses to public health and the potential for fur farms to cause infectious disease outbreaks among humans. The researchers call for greater surveillance on fur farming operations, and one of the scientists who worked on the study goes even further. In statements to media, study co-author Virologist Edward Holmes stated that the global fur farming industry needs to end.
“Personally, I think the fur farming industry globally should be closed down . . . I strongly believe that the wildlife trade was responsible for the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 and I think that the related fur farming trade could easily result in another pandemic virus."
Preprint study found influenza viruses circulating on BC mink farms during COVID
New research is emerging that found viruses circulating on British Columbia mink farms during the province’s COVID-19 outbreaks in 2020-2021. A preprint study, Detection of a reassortant swine- and human-origin H3N2 influenza A virus in farmed mink in British Columbia, Canada, found that influenza A viruses were detected in farmed mink as a result of surveillance on mink farms during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Although this study could not determine how the mink became infected with the influenza viruses, it further demonstrates that zoonotic diseases are circulating on fur farms which pose disease spillover risks to humans. The conclusions in the BC study echo those of the China fur farm study, recommending increased surveillance for animals on fur farms to monitor potential zoonotic threats.
A warning from Canadian public health experts
A 2022 article, authored by public health experts across multiple government agencies and health authorities, looked at the BC government’s response to the SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks in British Columbia in 2021-2022. The study, One Health response to SARS-CoV-2-associated risk from mink farming in British Columbia, Canada, October 2020 to October 2021, drew similar conclusions about the risk of diseases circulating on fur farms in the absence of surveillance.
The study’s authors write, “Without ongoing worker and mink herd surveillance, it is possible that mink farm outbreaks and the associated risk of mink-related viral adaptation and transmission back to the community are occurring undetected in other jurisdictions including other provinces.”
With the exception of British Columbia who banned mink farming in 2021, provincial and federal governments have not taken the public health risks of fur farming seriously; fur farms continue to operate across Canada despite the well-documented public health risks of farming animals for their fur. Hundreds of thousands of fur-bearing animals, including those identified as known hosts for zoonotic diseases, are being actively bred and farmed for their fur across the country. Click here to learn more about fur farming in Canada.
Contact your Member of Parliament about fur farming
It’s time for the federal government to take action on fur farms and join the many countries worldwide who have banned the practice. You can contact your Member of Parliament (MP) today to call for a federal ban on fur farming to protect people, the environment, and animals. Click here to find your elected representative.
The Fur-Bearers will be providing more information in the coming months on how you can get involved and take action to end fur farming in Canada. Follow our social media accounts and subscribe to our newsletter to stay informed on campaign updates.
