The presence of COVID-19 on fur farms in the United States is a serious animal welfare and public fitness problem. According to a press release issued through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on August 17, scientists showed the first case of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19 in humans) in mink on two fur farms in Utah. The conditions on fur farms are incredibly unhealthy, with animals enclosed in narrow and filthy cages, optimal situations for the spread of the disease in animals and, potentially, in humans.
SARS-CoV-2 infections in mink have already been documented in many fur farms in Europe.