Eighty-five percent of the fur industry’s skins come from
animals living captive in fur factory farms.(1) These farms can
hold thousands of animals, and their farming practices are
remarkably uniform around the globe. As with other intensive-
confinement animal farms, the methods used in fur factory farms
are designed to maximize profits, always at the expense of the
animals. Painful and Short Lives The most commonly farmed fur-
bearing animals are minks, followed by foxes. Chinchillas,
lynxes, and even hamsters are also farmed for their fur.(2)
Fifty-eight percent of mink farms are in Europe, 10 percent are
in North America, and the rest are dispersed throughout the
world, in countries such as Argentina, China, and Russia.(3)
Mink farmers usually breed female minks once a year. There are
about three or four surviving kittens in each litter, and they
are killed when they are about 6 months old, depending on what
country they are in, after the first hard freeze. Minks used for
breeding are kept for four to five