CRASH…What Happened to All of Utah’s Mink Farms?

There are certain animals that I couldn't spot in a lineup.

Mink is one of them.

What is it? A guinea pig?

I'm not really sure, but for some reason mink farms have mostly gone away in Utah over the past decade.

According to CacheValleyDaily: (LINK TO FULL ARTICLE)

"Utah’s mink farming industry has reached a milestone, with pelt production dropping below 100,000 for the first time in over 50 years, according to new federal data.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service reported just 95,230 mink pelts produced in Utah during 2024 — a steep 90% decline from 2014, when the state produced more than 950,000."

Apparently, even though mink pelt production has fallen 90%, Utah is still the second largest producer of mink in the country,

A part of the drop has to be that if you wear fur these days you're gonna get a bucket of paint thrown on you. Back a couple decades ago every Hollywood actress went everywhere in fur. Now it's a safety risk to be seen out in a mink coat.

I understand that there are going to be concerns about the welfare of the animals on the farms (I still don't understand what these animals are exactly).

Apparently people get worked up about them being havens for disease and then a mink gets out and NCMOs with your chicken and now your chicken has Omicron.

So I get it. Everything has a downside. But I guess I feel bad for all of the mink farmers who had family farms for years and now they're going away.