I was shocked and sickened when I read an article in today’s news, saying that Denmark is planning to exterminate 17 million minks that have been discovered to carry a mutated form of coronavirus. But then, we allowed the extermination of 6 million of our own kind. Apparently, Denmark is the largest supplier of mink coats. Will the exploitation of other species, through factory farming, ever cease?
Minks are semiaquatic and they are related to weasels, otters and ferrets – and they are adorable. In the UK, where all mink populations are farmed, it is illegal to release them into the wild. They are kept in the same tiny cubicles, known as battery cages, in which factory farmed chickens are raised, and where they have no room to move about. This has resulted in the deterioration of the minks’ mental health, which is further exacerbated by the mere sight of a human being.
In the wild, a mink’s diet consists of aquatic life, small mammals, birds, and eggs. Rabbits are one of their favorite foods. Those minks which are imprisoned on farms are fed human foods that have surpassed their expiration dates – cheese, eggs, fish, meat, poultry, and slaughterhouse byproducts. Minks that live in the wild are preyed on by owls, fox, coyotes, wolves, and bobcats, but since many of these natural predators have been eliminated, they pose a threat to fish populations. This is because their normal behavior is to live along streams, river banks, and lakes. They are also, by nature, territorial. Obviously, as victims of the fur industry, their natural behavior is subdued. Animal rights activist groups have fought for decades to put a stop to the fur industry, due to the cruelty inflicted on these animals merely for the sake of those wealthy enough to afford a mink coat. The fact that people can murder 17 million animals, probably without batting an eye, is inconceivable to me. I am certain that the industries lament only the loss of their profits and could care less about the animals themselves. If any good can come from the slaughtering of 17 million minks, I hope it will be the closing down permanently of the businesses that farm them.
My first husband bought me a mink coat as a gift, when I was still ignorant about these things. I still have the coat today, though I have rarely worn it. I keep it now as a kind of memorial to remind me of those minks whose lives were sacrificed for human vanity. I also treat it as a kind of sacred relic in honor of their memory. I will continue to care for the coat as I would care for the gravestone of a loved and departed family member.
Human beings need to let go of the notion, that they must exterminate and eradicate every species that isn’t to their liking. The annihilation of one species begins a downward spiral that throws the entire ecosystem out of balance. Scientists all over the world have shown this to be true, so why do we continue to allow so many atrocities to our environment and to other species? Everything has a purpose for its existence. Everything
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