Optimal standards for the nutrition, housing, husbandry and euthanasia of farmed-raised mink and fox are set out in Recommended Codes of Practice developed by Agriculture Canada, in consultation with producers and animal-welfare agencies. Similar standards have been developed in the USA and Europe. There is a strong incentive to respect these codes because there is no other way to produce high quality fur; farmers who do not care for their animals will not remain in business very long. From a humane perspective, farmed fur animals also have a distinct advantage over animals raised for food: they need not be transported to distant abattoirs. (Loading, unloading and transporting animals is generally much more stressful for them than the actual slaughtering operation.)

Standards have been set to protect animals trapped for any reason, including pest and disease control. Without human intervention, wildlife is often subject to wildly swinging “boom and bust” cycles of overpopulation, disease and starvation. This is “natural”, certainly, but hardly humane.

Environment Canada and the international fur trade have contributed more than $13 million in recent years to research and refine humane trapping methods. This pioneering work, coordinated by the Fur Institute of Canada, provided the scientific basis for the Agreement on International Humane Trapping Standards (AIHTS) Using modern methods, trappers can help to maintain stable, healthy and abundant wildlife populations.

Curious about how fur measures up to other

important ecological and social criteria?

Go to:

Fur is a Renewable Resource
Fur is Durable, Reusable and Recyclable
Fur is Biodegradable
Fur is Non-polluting, Non-toxic
Fur Production, Use and Disposal is Energy Efficient
Animal Welfare: Responsible Practices
Fair Trade: Supporting People & Cultures