- The fur trade was one of the crucial industries on which colonial America grew and was sustained. Beaver pelts were so in demand that they were exchanged as currency amongst colonists and Native Americans. Professional fur trappers were among the leading explorers and pioneers who opened up new segments of the frontier to development. The first fur farms appeared in the U.S. in the 1860s, with mink being the most commonly farmed fur animal. Today, the U.S. ranks fourth in the world for fur production.
- The day-to-day activities of mink fur farmers depend on where they are in the life cycle of the animal. A fur farm operates on what's called the farming year, which is entirely based on the animal being farmed. Mink breed in March and give birth to their litters in May, averaging four to six live young. During breeding and whelping periods, farmers select and pair animals, care for pregnant mothers, supervise and aid in delivery and help to nurture the newborn kits, which are weaned from their mother at six to eight weeks and inoculated against botulism, distemper, enteritis and sometimes pneumonia. In the early fall, the animals molt and begin to grow their winter coats. November and December bring the harvesting season, when mature mink are slaughtered according to the American Veterinary Medical Association's Report on Euthanasia. Once again, the farmers grade their animals and select the most desirable to survive for next year's breeding and the continuation of the farming year cycle.
- Fur farming declined through the 1980s and 1990s, as animal rights activists eroded demand for fur products. Some nations, like Austria and Croatia, have outlawed fur farming altogether, while others, like Sweden and the U.K., are phasing it out or regulating it very strictly. The rise of China and other developing nations, however, reinvigorated the fur industry after 2000. Nonetheless, fur farming remains controversial. Most disputes revolve around unethical treatment of animals, like confinement to tiny cages. Mink are known to self-mutilate if they are overcrowded and unable to swim. Farmers, therefore, have every incentive to treat their animals well, both to avoid protests and to maintain the quality of their product.
