COPENHAGEN — Mink farming will end in Denmark by August 2029 after the government decided to drop plans to pursue an exemption to an EU-wide ban on the practice, BBC News reported on Friday. The ban is due to come into effect on 7 August 2027, followed by a two-year transition period to phase out mink breeding.

Source: BBC News (via NewsATW)

Danish Minister for Nature Christian Rabjerg Madsen said the government had chosen animal welfare. 'A business should not continue just because it has existed for a long time. It should also make sense for society, for the economy and for the animals,' he said, according to BBC News. Social Democrat MP Brigitte Vind said it was 'a good day for animal welfare' and called the decision not to apply for a special scheme 'absolutely the right decision.'

The European Union added American mink to its list of invasive species in 2025, prohibiting people from keeping them, Rapporteur reported. Denmark's previous government initially sought an exemption for its industry, but the coalition government elected in June 2026 reversed that position on Friday and decided not to proceed with the application. Finland, by contrast, asked for a derogation last month, Rapporteur said.

Source: Rapporteur

Denmark was once the largest producer of mink fur in the world, but the industry has declined because of fur-farming bans in other countries, a falling fur trade and the pandemic crisis, when the government ordered a mass cull after a mutated strain of Covid-19 was found in mink. Approximately 15 million animals were killed, and the government later admitted it had no legal basis for the culling, BBC News reported. About 15,000 mink now remain in Denmark, on seven farms.

The cost of closing the seven remaining farms has not yet been determined; local media cited a coalition-party estimate of about 14 million Danish kroner — yaani about 1.4 crore kroner — while noting the final amount may be higher, BBC News reported. Animal Protection Denmark welcomed the decision, describing the end of the production as a 'huge victory', Rapporteur reported. The Danish Mink Association, which represents breeders, was approached for comment, BBC News said.