Hi John, 

Thousands of mink have died across the globe from COVID-19, including mutant variants of the disease. But curiously, unlike Europe, the government in the United States has responded, not by closing down the industry, but by protecting it from scrutiny. Now Newsweek is reporting, based on investigations done by DxE and our partners at the Utah Animal Rights Coalition, that this includes concealing sickness and death among employees, and making false legal statements that the disease has not spread to wild animals. 

I’m blogging today about how mink farming just might be the most dangerous industry in America. But instead of closing it down, the government has used counter-terrorism resources to go after the animal rights activists exposing outbreaks. I kid you not. 

Documents DxE and partner groups have obtained show that, with respect to factory farming of mink, state and federal agencies are being the opposite of transparent.

In one disturbing example, the Utah government told the public that no wild mink had tested positive for the disease when, in fact, the spread to wild animals had already been reported to international disease experts. They also concealed the death of a farm employee.

The US mink farming industry is spreading tens of thousands of COVID-19 infections in ways that could lead to mutation, untraceable transmission among wild populations of mink, and long term risks to our nation. Putting the industry’s profits above public health is unacceptable.  

We’ve known for years, of course, that mink farming is deadly to the animals. Each mink in a fur farm lives in a lonely cage, and dies by being thrown into a dark box and gassed. It’s a cruel, brutish, and short life. But now we’re seeing that, what kills the animals often kills us, too.

That’s why it’s so important for us to shut the industry down now, before it’s too late. 

Share my blog post -- it will be the first of many, as I move towards writing more and spending less time on social media -- and please sign the petition we are submitting to the Biden Administration asking them to take immediate action. 

Wayne