The country that once dominated the global trade in mink pelts is calling time on the business. Denmark’s government said on Friday it will not ask Brussels for a special exemption, so the bloc’s prohibition on keeping the animals will apply to Danish farms like everyone else’s.
Brussels added the American mink to its invasive species register in 2025, which is what makes farming them illegal. It takes effect on 7 August 2027, and existing farms then get two more years to wind down, so the final cages must be empty by August 2029. The previous coalition had planned to seek a carve-out. The centre-left-led government that took office after June’s election has now shelved that application.
Christian Rabjerg Madsen, the minister responsible for nature, presented it as a choice in favour of the animals: an industry, he argued, needs to make sense for society and the economy, not merely survive on tradition. Lawmakers from the coalition welcomed the move as a win for welfare campaigners.
In truth, little is left to close. The sector never recovered from the pandemic, when authorities ordered roughly 15 million mink culled after a mutated coronavirus strain spread through farms. Ministers would later admit that the cull lacked any proper legal footing. Today seven farms remain, holding around 15,000 animals, while production elsewhere, notably in Poland and China, has overtaken Denmark.
No compensation figure has been settled. One coalition spokesperson had earlier estimated the closures at about 14 million Danish kroner, though officials say the final bill could be larger. The breeders’ association had not commented by Friday.
