DeLauro, Mace, Advocates Praise House Passage of Amendment Banning Mink Factory Farming

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Representatives Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) and Nancy Mace (R-SC-01) today secured their bipartisan amendment to the America COMPETES Act that would ban the factory farming of mink.

"The factory farming of mink threatens public health, especially as we continue fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic," said Representative DeLauro. "The evidence is clear: mink operations can incubate and spread new COVID-19 variants and pose a unique threat of extending the pandemic. At the same time, with virtually no domestic market, the U.S. mink industry has been in steady decline for years. Now is the time for this legislation to become law, and I am urging all of my colleagues to continue supporting this bipartisan effort."

"One of the many lessons we learned at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic is the real danger of animal to human transmission of disease. In fact, If COVID-19 could design its perfect habitat for mutation and transmission, it would closely resemble a mink farm, where thousands of mink are kept in small, often unsanitary, overcrowded cages, for days on end," said Representative Mace. "Today, through working together on both sides of the aisle, we have the chance to end the abusive and inhumane mink farming practice that puts Americans' health at risk."

The DeLauro-Mace amendment prohibits the possession, transport, and sale of captively raised mink for fur production. In July 2021, Reps. DeLauro and Mace introduced the Minks in Narrowly Kept Spaces Are Superspreaders Act (MINKS Act).

The mink fur market has shrunk in recent years as major fashion companies have transitioned away from animal furs. Canada Goose and Neiman Marcus recently announced they were ending the practice. The industry currently sends most of its products to China's luxury goods market. Mink, a semi-aquatic species, pose a unique COVID-19 threat due to their susceptibility to respiratory disease. There have been mink factory farm COVID-19 outbreaks in the United States and across Europe, leading a number of countries to end mink factory farming.

"If COVID-19 spreads from farmed mink into the large wild and feral mink populations across the northern hemisphere, humans may be cursed with COVID-19 risk forever," said Founder of the Michelson Center for Public Policy, Gary Michelson, M.D.

"SARS-CoV-2 likely got its launch at a live-wildlife market in China even after warning from animal welfare advocates and infectious disease specialists that these commercial trading posts could spawn the next epidemic or pandemic," said President of Animal Wellness Action, Wayne Pacelle. "We know that mink are the only non-human animals who are bilateral transmitters of COVID-19, and yet we continue to house them on factory farms to generate a luxury product that few people want or need."

The MINKS Act is supported by a broad group of experts and organizations, including the Michelson Center for Public Policy, Animal Wellness Action, Animal Wellness Foundation, Center for a Humane Economy, and SPCA International.