New footage has been released by Bont Voor Dieren and  Eyes on Animals/TSB|AWF showing th full horror of live transport of mink by the fur industry.

The truck was inspected by a team from Eyes on Animals/TSB|AWF when it was on its way from a Dutch mink farm to Poland. There were hundreds of mink in tiny, filthy cages on board the truck. The animals were stressed, trying to break free and performing stereotypic behaviour.

The official report of the inspection makes clear how uncomfortably dirty the conditions were for the mink:

“Crates are made of metal mesh, some of them have sides secured with plastic. Between crates (horizontally) there are layers of thin paper/plastic or cardboard, probably to prevent contamination of minks from lower cages with excrements of minks from higher crates. The layers are sometimes bitten off or too small to prevent the leaking of excrements. They also do not provide comfort or support to the minks’ feet.”

The cages were stacked in a sloppy way, with many animals having to endure standing on a sloping floor. Some of the mink had escaped and were running around the truck. The animals were female mink being transported to Polish fur farms to breed young for the slaughter ahead of this autumn’s fur season.

Fur farming in the Netherlands is currently being phased out and many fur famrers are moving to countries like Poland instead. Fortunately, there is a strong campaign to ban fur farming in Poland as well, as politicians across Europe realise the inherent and unjustified cruelty of the fur industry.