Urge Your Representative to Support Bill to End Mink Farming!

Dear John, 

A new bill in Congress seeks to address the public health and animal welfare crisis created by farming mink for their fur. The "Mink: Vectors for Infection Risk in the United States Act" (Mink VIRUS Act, H.R. 3783), introduced by Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), would phase out mink farming in the US over one year and establish a grant program to reimburse mink farmers for the full value of their farm so that they're able to transition to another industry.

A growing body of science shows how mink are particularly high-risk "mixing vessels" for producing dangerous variants of respiratory diseases that are potentially transmissible to humans. These fur farms create circumstances that threaten to worsen the current pandemic and usher in the next one.

Fur farms house mink in crowded, cruel environments that create an ideal setting for pathogens to circulate. Wire cages are packed together and may be stacked on top of each other so that waste falls on the animals below. These animals are highly stressed due to the miserable conditions and are thus more susceptible to infection.

What You Can Do

Please urge your representative to cosponsor the Mink VIRUS Act, to protect both mink and the public.

Be sure to share our action alert with family, friends, and co-workers and encourage them to take meaningful action too. Thank you for all you do for animals!

Sincerely,

Kate Dylewsky

Assistant Director, Government Affairs

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Photo by Jo-Anne McArthur/Djurrattsalliansen

Animal Welfare Institute

900 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE, Washington, DC 20003
(202) 337-2332 | www.awionline.org

The Animal Welfare Institute is a not-for-profit organization, founded in 1951 and dedicated to reducing animal suffering caused by people. We seek better treatment of animals everywhere: in the laboratory, on the farm, in commerce, at home, and in the wild.