“The breeding of American mink for fur and fashion products, also violate animal welfare turns out to be truebiological bomb‘ HE threatens nature and our healthThe WWF conservation association is supporting a campaign that calls for a ban on vision farms, thinking they mean “one.” animal exploitation It should not be in our century and we cannot tolerate it”.
WWF hopes that Spain will follow the lead of countries like the Netherlands, which have already decided to close all mink farms. Meanwhile, Spain still has 32 farms“Many of these animals are kept in small cages to be slaughtered for their skin at six months.”
According to the NGO, these overcrowded conditions and life in cages “increase its potential. health risk and they are in stark contrast to the wildlife conditions of the American mink, which is a solitary and territorial species by nature, accustomed to swimming and diving in rivers or wetlands.”
“For this reason, There are many reasons to demand the closure of American mink farms. In our country,” says WWF, it also draws attention to the danger posed by these farms: “The constant flight of these animals poses a very serious threat to our native fauna.“.
Environmental group, an American mink invasive alien species and one voracious carnivore It preys on ground-nesting birds and many protected amphibian species, fish, and even mammals such as the endangered Pyrenean desman”.
Moreover, brought the European mink to the brink of extinctionan indigenous species that has displaced and is currently the most threatened carnivore in Europe, with less than 500 specimens remaining in Spain.
Potential contaminants of viruses to humans
The European mink has long since disappeared from 90% of its original rangea victim of the advance of the American mink from fur farms. “Large amounts of public money are invested in Spain each year to try to control mink populations at these facilities,” says WWF.
American mink fur farms have already been banned and permanently closed in many European countries such as the United Kingdom, Croatia, Austria, Switzerland and the Netherlands, and in other non-European countries such as Japan.
In Spain, on the contrary, this work was allowed because central and regional governments maintaining “lax legislation adapted to these businesses”For this reason, many foreign fur companies have settled in our country and they have plans to continue growing,” the NGO condemned.
“Because of the bad conditions they live in the cages, The American mink can host viruses such as covid-19 or avian influenza A and transmit them to humans.It could be a greater source of epidemics than any exposure to date,” warns WWF.
“Neither our nature nor our health can wait any longer. Maintaining American mink farms is perpetuating brutal animal exploitation that puts nature and our health at serious risk.“, To add.
For all these reasons, the WWF, from the Spanish Government ” Immediate and definitive closure of all existing American mink farms in Spainwith all necessary health and animal welfare guarantees”.
Moreover, ” urgent change of existing regulations Thus, this activity will be strictly prohibited on Spanish territory and the operation of existing farms will be stopped”.
dangerous to biodiversity
American mink (neovison mink) is a small to medium-sized carnivore native to North America from the mustelid family, such as the European mink, otter, marten, and weasel. This is a semi-aquatic animal dependent on rivers and wetlands, adaptable to other aquatic habitats such as lakes and coastal areas.
have great invader character since one opportunistic predator It feeds on many species, has a high reproductive rate and great dispersal capacity (offspring can disperse tens of kilometers from their home region), so it can expand rapidly and colonize large areas.
Therefore, although its original distribution covered most of Alaska, Canada, and the United States, it is found on three continents outside its native range and Located in 25 countries in Europe.
For all these reasons, by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) one of the most dangerous invasive alien species for biodiversity.
The first American mink populations in Spain formed in the 1980s and have since been a continues to expand its rangecoming to invade in the last ten years More than a quarter of Spain’s territory and today its expansion is increasing.
On the contrary In 2013, the American mink was included in the Spanish Invasive Alien Species Catalogue.laxity in the implementation of our environmental regulations has not stopped new farm establishment projects or expansion of existing ones, especially in regions such as Galicia, or even Call effect for manufacturers in other European countries where farms began to be banned.