WHAT IS A FUR FARM?

Farmed Species

The 2021 Census of Agriculture reported the existence of 79 mink farms and 18 fox farms across Canada. Freedom of Information requests made by The Fur-Bearers have uncovered the presence of wolf, lynx, bobcat, and chinchilla fur farms, bringing the confirmed total to six species actively farmed for fur in Canada. These are the three most prominent.

According to the 2021 Census of Agriculture, there were:

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

The Wild–Farmed Contrast

Mink are semi-aquatic and highly motivated to swim and dive, along with exploring complex terrain and hunting live prey, none of which standard wire cages allow. As solitary animals, they are occasionally housed in groups on fur farms, or pens are packed tightly next to one another. Foxes are wide-ranging, dig extensively, and prefer solitary or pair-based territories, while raccoon dogs need denning opportunities and periods of isolation from other animals.

The 2025 EFSA opinion frames these as genuine "behavioural needs," meaning welfare suffers measurably when the animals can't perform them, not just that they'd prefer more space.

Species-specific problems in current cage systems include soft tissue lesions and handling stress in mink, locomotory disorders in Arctic foxes, group stress in red foxes, isolation stress in raccoon dogs, and an inability to perform comfort behaviour in chinchillas. In most cases, these harms can't be prevented or reduced within existing cage systems.

Fur farm animals commonly display stereotypic behaviours like pacing, repetitive circling, and self-directed biting or fur-chewing. These are classic signs of chronic frustration and confinement stress rarely seen in wild populations. Documented health issues include skin lesions, lameness, and dental damage from cage-gnawing, alongside elevated stress-related mortality. This stands in sharp contrast to wild mink, foxes, and raccoon dogs, whose natural behavioural repertoire (swimming, denning, roaming) keeps these conditions largely absent outside captivity (Euro Group for Animals).

Photographs of mink diving for fish, foxes digging dens and caring for kits, raccoon dogs foraging at dusk illustrate a rich, active life built around movement, choice, and social complexity. Placed beside images of a barren wire cage, the contrast does more argumentative work than statistics alone: it makes visible exactly what confinement strips away. This is why welfare science and visual campaigning tend to reinforce each other.