COVID Outbreaks on Mink Farms Threaten Animals and People:
Urge Congress to Act
Dear John,
Last week, AWI and its allies petitioned the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to list American mink in trade as an injurious species under the Lacey Act. Farmed mink can transmit COVID-19 to humans and wildlife; if they escape, they can also cause ecological harm. An injurious designation would prohibit the importation, transportation, and acquisition of live and dead mink, including parts containing fur--restrictions that would help to protect people, wild mink, and other wildlife.
While the USFWS reviews our petition, we must also keep the pressure up on Congress to act on this urgent animal welfare and public health concern. COVID-19 has hit humanity hard. It has also devastated mink confined on fur farms across the globe--millions have died of the virus or been culled. In the United States alone, COVID-19 outbreaks have been confirmed on at least 17 mink farms in Michigan, Oregon, Utah, and Wisconsin. In several cases, farmed mink populations have transmitted a mutated form of the virus back to humans, raising concerns about variants that could be more harmful and less susceptible to vaccines.
This alarming situation should spur a federal response. While our Lacey Act petition addresses trade in mink, AWI has separately called for a phase-out of the US mink farm industry, with fair compensation provided to farm owners and workers. To persuade Congress to pursue these policy solutions, your legislators need to continue hearing from you.