The BC SPCA is calling for a moratorium on mink farming in British Columbia.
The SPCA suggests an immediate suspension of all mink farm licences, after eight workers on a Fraser Valley fur farm tested positive for COVID-19.
More than 200 mink have died on the farm, and samples from mink on the property have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 in humans.
The SPCA has written to B.C.’s chief veterinary officer, the provincial health officer and deputy minister of agriculture, food and fisheries, expressing concerns for public and animal health.
A moratorium is needed to reduce the risk of further disease spread in B.C. communities, including the risk to wild animals, says the SPCA's Geoff Urton.
"At this time, the practice of mink farming is at odds with the Animal Health Act due to the close contact between farmed mink and farm staff," he said in a press release.
Urton notes that mink are permitted to be farmed in B.C. through exemptions to the provincial Wildlife Act’s prohibition on keeping of native wildlife. The cramped conditions of thousands of mink on farms creates dangerous conditions for the spread of the virus, he adds
“In addition to the threat to public health, the BC SPCA is deeply concerned about the suffering of thousands of mink raised on farms in B.C.,” says Urton.
There are 13 mink farms in B.C., almost all of which are in the Fraser Valley.
In 2018, more than 260,000 mink were killed for their fur in B.C., a practice that polls show 85 per cent of British Columbians oppose.
