The government of British Columbia announced it would phase out the province’s mink farm industry on November 5, 2021. British Columbians were invited to provide comments on the decision and the amendments to the Fur Farm Regulation (the submission period is now closed). The Fur-Bearers submitted a comment to the government, read it below.
Re: Mink farm prohibition and Fur Farm Regulation amendments
Established in 1953, The Fur-Bearers is a registered charity dedicated to promoting coexistence with wildlife and protecting fur-bearing animals in the wild and confinement.
We applaud the decision taken by the Government of British Columbia to phase-out mink farming. On behalf of The Fur-Bearers and our supporters, we would like to express our gratitude to Minister Lana Popham, Deputy Minister Thomas Ethier, their staff, and everyone in the ministry that has worked on this file and has contributed to this decision. Thank you for meeting with us, listening to our concerns, and addressing the issues we have raised about this sector.
Although this decision does not affect the active chinchilla farm in the province, we hope that the same support that is offered to mink farmers can be extended to the chinchilla fur farmer as well. As you are aware, the Fur Farm Regulation allows for the commercial farming of five other species of animals. It is our position that the prohibition on mink farming be extended to all animals, consistent with the government’s concerns raised about public health, but also due to the inherent animal welfare concerns of intensively farming wild animals, the environmental and biodiversity concerns about the possibility of importing prohibited species (nutria) into British Columbia for the purpose of commercial fur farming, and the public’s overwhelming sentiment that fur farming no longer has a place in the province and society as a whole.
We look forward to seeing the changes to the regulations and working with you further on this important topic.
