Full Breakdown
Denmark to Phase Out Mink Farming by 2029 Following EU Ban
By Drooid · · How we work
Government Decision to End Mink Farming
Denmark announced it will not apply for an exemption to the EU’s upcoming ban on mink breeding, meaning the practice will be phased out by August 2029 after a two-year transition period. The decision was taken by the coalition government elected in June and marks a reversal of a prior plan to seek a special permit.
EU Invasive-Species Regulation and Earlier Pandemic Crisis
American mink were added to the EU’s List of Invasive Alien Species of Union Concern in 2025, triggering a mandatory keeping and breeding ban that takes effect on August 7, 2027. The ban follows a broader EU trend—fur farming is already prohibited in 24 European countries. Denmark’s mink sector was previously hit by a pandemic-related cull: the government ordered the slaughter of roughly 15 million mink or 17 million mink after SARS-CoV-2 variants were detected on farms, later admitting the action lacked a legal basis.
Official Statements
“An industry should not continue to exist simply because it has been around for a long time,” “An industry should not continue to exist simply because it has been around for a long time,” — Christian Rabjerg Madsen, danish nature minister . Nature Minister Christian Rabjerg Madsen added that the industry must also make sense for society, the economy and the animals.
Data, Statistics and Conflicting Figures
- Remaining operations: seven mink farms (BBC, Bluewin).
- Live animals left: about 15,000 mink.
- Pandemic cull: ?15 million mink vs. ?17 million mink.
- Compensation to farmers: > €3 billion reported by Humaneworld; closure costs for the seven farms were preliminarily estimated at 14 million DKK (£1.56 million).
Implications for Animal Welfare and the European Fur Industry
The Danish phase-out aligns the country with the EU’s animal-welfare-driven trajectory, where fur farming has fallen by 86 % in animal numbers and 92 % in sales value over the past decade. With the transition ending by 2029, Denmark will join the majority of EU members that have already eliminated mink, fox and raccoon-dog fur production, reinforcing a continent-wide shift toward cruelty-free fashion and reducing the ecological impact of invasive mink populations.