Mink VIRUS Act Reintroduced in the U.S. House to Ban Mink Farming

Contact: media@aldf.org

Washington, D.C. — This week, Congressman Adriano Espaillat (D-NY-13) reintroduced the Mink: Vectors for Infection Risk in the United States Act, known as the Mink VIRUS Act (H.R. 2185), to protect public health and reduce the risk of zoonotic disease transmission by prohibiting mink farming in the U.S. More specifically, the bill, supported by the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF), would offer a one-year phase-out period for mink farming and establish a grant program to help operators transition out of the industry.  

At mink farms, animals are housed in crowded, inhumane, unsanitary cages that contribute to the spread of zoonotic disease. Fur Commission USA, the association representing mink farmers, acknowledges that disease transmission is an inherent risk of mink farming. Yet such risks are being taken as the avian flu (H5N1) has continued to spread across the U.S. since 2022. The avian flu outbreak has infected at least 162 million poultry and wild aquatic birds, as well as at least 70 humans, resulting in one human death. In March 2024, avian flu was first detected in cows and reportedly caused a multistate outbreak on dairy farms. One year later, experts identified a possible genetic mutation in cow herds on dairy farms that makes the virus more transmissible with increased severity. While no U.S. mink farms have yet reported avian flu outbreaks, tens of thousands of farmed minks have been infected, and subsequently killed, throughout Europe.  

There have also been tens of thousands of minks in the U.S. — and millions worldwide — infected with COVID-19, and there have been documented cases in which minks have transmitted the virus to humans. Despite the zoonotic disease risk, the federal government offered mink farms millions of dollars in loans to compensate producers for losses incurred from COVID-19 infection. Few animal species have been reported to have transmitted COVID-19 to humans around the globe (including white-tailed deer and hamsters), but minks have done this on multiple occasions — and were likely the first animal-to-human transmission in the U.S.  

“It has been five years since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and the U.S. continues to grapple with lingering impacts while simultaneously facing the rapid and devastating spread of avian flu,” said Legislative Affairs Manager Allison Ludtke. “We must prioritize public health and put an end to a dying industry whose exploitation of animals could lead us into the next pandemic. We applaud Congressman Espaillat for his leadership on the Mink VIRUS Act, which will protect animals and humans alike.”

Cities and states in the U.S. and foreign countries, such as Israel, are now banning fur sales, further closing markets for fur products. In 2019, California became the first U.S. state to ban fur sales after similar measures passed in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Berkeley, and West Hollywood. In 2020, Wellesley, Massachusetts, became the first East Coast city to ban fur sales, with several other municipalities in Massachusetts following suit. Ann Arbor, Michigan; Boulder, Colorado; Etna, Pennsylvania; and Hallandale Beach, Florida, have also passed fur sales bans. Countries that have banned or are phasing out mink farming specifically include Austria, Belgium, France, Ireland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, the Netherlands, Romania, and the United Kingdom.