Environmental Impacts (2024)

The negative environmental impacts of fur farming are far reaching. Compared with other textiles, fur production is extremely inefficient and resource intensive. Every stage of fur production requires significant resources that impact the environment, from the massive amounts of feed to the toxic chemicals used for pelt processing. A 2011 report by CE Delft, an independent research organization in the Netherlands, found that of the 17 of the 18 environmental impacts they studied, 1kg of mink fur scored consistently worse than 1 kg of other textiles such as cotton, wool, and polyester. Among their findings:

For 1 kilogram of factory farmed mink fur, 563 kilograms of feed is required
Farmed fur outscores other textiles by 2-28 times for various environmental indicators such as soil and water pollution and land use
The climate change impact of 1kg of mink fur is five times higher than that of the next highest-scoring textile (wool)¹

In Nova Scotia, home to the majority of Canada’s fur farms, manure runoff from mink operations has been identified as a threat to soil and water quality, posing serious risks for fish, birds, farmed and wild animals, humans, and the environment.² Following complaints of algae blooms in several watersheds located in areas with high concentrations of mink farms, the Nova Scotia government conducted investigations and water quality surveys from 2008 – 2012.³ The 2012 report prepared for Nova Scotia Environment found that the high levels of pollution observed in 9 lakes located within the watersheds were likely the result of mink farming activities.⁴⁵

In addition to its impacts on the natural environment, the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the risks of fur farming due to the threat of disease spillover from fur farms into wildlife populations. Transmission to wildlife is possible through direct and indirect contact with animals as well as through contaminated carcasses and waste generated by fur farms. Because of fur farming, SARS-CoV-2 has the potential to establish itself as a permanent reservoir in wildlife populations, posing a threat to both wild animals and become a continual public health risk. The 2020 fur farming assessment by the WHO, FAO, and OIE writes:

Emerging infectious diseases can often pose a threat to native wildlife species. Escaped fur farmed animals that can act as maintenance hosts and cause spillover to sympatric wildlife are a particular threat. Any wildlife species that becomes a reservoir for SARS-CoV-2 could pose a continued public health risk of zoonosis, a risk for the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 to other animal species, and the risk of negative perceptions of those species resulting in human threats to the species and their populations.⁶

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