Are farmed furbearers wild or domesticated?
A. Livestock on American mink farms are domesticated descendants of wild animals, some caught almost a century ago. They have been selectively bred to be healthy and thrive in a farm environment, and to provide the most desirable fur quality and a variety of colors. This is the same way all breeds of domestic livestock, pets, animals used in medical research, and animals in zoos and aquariums, have evolved and are continuously improved. As with sheep, cows and pets, farmed furbearers are totally dependent on man for their needs, and rarely survive long if released into the wild. The status of farmed mink as domesticated animals is also recognized in US law (see US Code Title 7, Chapter 7, ยง 433). For more information see Fur Facts (PDF format).