FUR-FARMING INDUSTRY IN CANADA
Current Operations in Canada
How many fur farms currently operate in Canada, and where are they located?
There are no federal departments that would keep track of fur farms nationally. According to Fur Bearers, the oversight is provincial. Fur Bearers reported on Statistics Canada’s Census of Agriculture, published around every five years, in 2022. According to this latest report, there were 79 mink farms and 18 fox farms left in Canada, totaling 97 farms. But there is no mention of other animals in the report.
26 mink farms and 6 fox farms in Nova Scotia
26 mink farms in Ontario
12 mink farms in British Columbia
3 mink farms and 3 fox farms in Alberta
1 mink farm and 5 fox farms in New Brunswick
5 mink farms and 1 fox farm in Newfoundland & Labrador
3 mink farms in Manitoba
2 mink farms and 1 fox farm in Québec
1 mink farm and 1 fox farm in Prince Edward Island
1 fox farm in Saskatchewan
Legal Status
Which species are legally permitted to be farmed for fur in each province?
All the info below is from this table assembled by Fur Bearers. It contains links to all the provincial legislation
Species Legal to Farm
SK: Bobcat, coyote, Eurasian lynx, fisher, fox, lynx, mink, timber wolf, wolverine.
ON: No regulation.
QC: No regulation.
BC: Chinchilla, fisher, fox, marten, nutria.
AB: Arctic fox, badger, beaver, bobcat, coyote, ermine, fisher, lynx, marten, mink, muskrat, raccoon, red fox, river otter, skunk, wolf, wolverine.
NS: Mink, fox.
MB: No regulation.
PE: No regulation.
NL: Mink, fox, other species by permit.
NB: No regulation.
Species currently farmed
SK: Wolf, lynx, fox.
ON: Mink.
QC: Mink, fox.
BC: Chinchilla.
AB: Lynx.
NS: Mink, fox.
MB: Mink.
PE: Fox.
NL: Mink.
NB: Mink, fox.
Animals on Canadian Fur Farms
How many animals are held on Canadian fur farms annually, by species?
Most recent federal data (from 2020) only mention mink and fox. In 2020, 1,011,600 mink and 2,050 fox were killed for fur in Canada. There is no information on other species, or other causes of death on fur farms (disease, injury, etc.).
Standard Housing Conditions
What are the standard housing conditions (cage size, enrichment, social grouping) compared to the species' natural habitat needs?
Housing conditions are appalling. According to the Montreal SPCA, foxes are caged in pens of about 1 square meter in size, with wire mesh floors, while in the wild they would roam over several square kilometers and dig complex burrow systems. The same article states that minks are kept in cages with floors that would only fit two sheets of paper, with no access to water to swim in at all. Even though minks are solitary animals, they are kept piled over each other. This along with the fact that they are denied access to swimming causes incredible stress. This short documentary produced by Fur Bearers also shows how cages are often covered in excrement and infested with pests. The Montreal SPCA article also provides references on how these environments often lead to self-mutilation, infanticide, cannibalism, and stereotypies (repetitive behaviours with no apparent goal).
Regulatory Frameworks
What regulatory frameworks govern fur farming in Canada at the federal, provincial, and municipal levels?
Regulation occurs that the provincial level only, there are no rules on the federal level. Some provinces don’t even regulate fur farming at all. Here are links to legislation in each province, as compiled by Fur Bearers in this 2025 article:
SK
The Animal Production Regulations
ON
No regulation
QC
No regulation
BC
Fur Farm Regulation
AB
Fur Farms Act
NS
Fur Industry Act
MB
No regulation
PE
No regulation
NL
Fur Farming Regulations
NB
No regulation
Oversight, Inspection and Welfare-Monitoring
What oversight, inspection, and welfare-monitoring mechanisms exist, and how frequently are farms inspected?
Fur farming occurs with very little oversight and monitoring. According to this Fur Bearers article, the National Farm Animal Care Council Codes of Practice (NFACC Codes) are what regulate the industry. However, as they point out, the codes related to fur farming are “voluntary, outdated, and only apply to two species of animals: mink and fox.” These codes are not legally binding unless the province in question references them in their own regulations. Furthermore, even if referenced they are generally used as a legal protection device against animal cruelty charges, and not as an obligation farmers must fulfill proactively. It is up to the provinces to create and enforce their own legislation, which has been described as “surprisingly inconsistent and often under-regulated” in this article.
The fact that there aren't even updated numbers on how many farms exist available to the public already says a lot. This article mentions instances of “animal cruelty left unchecked for long periods, and environmental degradation, where the legal regulations were insufficiently strong or administered.” Inspections are only complaint-based, and there is also no third party or auditing system for fur farming.
This page on the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) explains certain laws/acts at the provincial level that may or may not apply to fur farming. Cruelty concerns are usually directed at what they call “food animals” or companion animals. The only direct mention to fur farming on this page can be found under the Saskatchewan subheader, which cites The Fur Farming Regulations of 2017. These regulations were repealed in 2024 and replaced by The Animal Production Regulations. Part 4 (p. 20-24) refers to fur farming.
Ontario
Given its prominence in the Canadian fur market, it may be surprising that there is currently no legislation regarding the wellbeing and treatment of fur-bearing animals bred on fur farms in Ontario. Ontario is far from an outlier in this regard; there is also an absence of such legislation in Manitoba, New Brunswick, Quebec, Prince Edward Island, Yukon, Nunavut, and the Northwest Territories.
In the past, organizations could be charged under animal cruelty laws through the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (OSPCA) or the federal Criminal Code of Canada: “When Jean-Luc Rodier became the first fur farmer in Canadian history to be charged with animal cruelty charges, the Quebec SPCA was only able to act because some of the animals were in circumstances that rose to the level of breaching the Criminal Code. There was no mechanism under the Codes of Practice to bring an action against him
However, in 2019, an Ontario Superior Court judge ruled that the OSPCA's policing/enforcement powers were unconstitutional because they were a private charity and not government. Later that year, the Ontario government appealed and the court's ruling was reversed. Still, the province had already moved away from this private enforcement model. In 2020, they announced that they would no longer be investigating and enforcing animal cruelty laws. Animal cruelty charges are now handled by Animal Welfare Services within the Ministry of the Solicitor General.