Mink and CV19

Thousands of Mink Die

Utah. I read 8000 died. Kills them very quickly. Can spread to members of the weasel family.

There is a positive mink in Taylor County Wi too!

do you guys think this will be the "nail in the coffin" for the mink farms, fighting low fur prices and now this happening as well? also how do you think it will do to wild fur market

Was in Taylor county for 2 days grouse hunting and fishing and heard on the radio about the ranch in the county. Don't know if this was a smaller ranch or a very large ranch. The last statement stated there were several hundred dead mink so we will see where that goes. The next question is will it spread into the wild mink population as they would be as susceptible but are not in close quarters with common air, feed and human contact. What a very bad time to get hit with this as they are 2 months from pelting and a lot of cost have been sunk into the mink.

Bryce

A lot of those would be close to pelting anyway if implanted. I have no idea what the situation is on that farm, but it only takes a few days and its all over. Mink are very susceptible to viral infections.
As far as fur markets being affected by the disappearance of a ranched fur sector, let me pose a question. How much of an operation do you think could be ran based on the market sales this past year? Doing the math makes it seem pretty spartan at best. The fur market at every level is gasping for air. I know some people are hoping the ranched sector disappears so that (in their opinion) the wild fur market will improve. For just short of 100 years the fur market has been driven by (not hindered by) ranched fur. It's been a long time since a pack mule loaded with plews made for a great year, and even that was done in by fashion change, not beaver farms or any other farmed fur. Some people are hoping for a "reimagined" fur market. Looks like very soon they may get their wish.
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Today there are more wealthy people in the world than ever before. There are more millionaires, etc. than at anytime in history. Even if the percentage of wealthy households wasn't increasing percentage wise, just using base population percentage the world population has increased almost 4 fold since World War 2. That alone has generated an increase. Yet execs keep looking at a useful number that has not allowed for increase. Ultimately, the problem lies with the fact that the vast majority of the worlds population has no need for furs. A perceived "need" based on fashion needs to develop; an "I gotta have it" appeal. Many are not old enough to remember, but in the 70's & early 80's fur was everywhere, furs of all sorts. From the 20's onward, mink was everywhere. Even in warm places like San Diego, Miami, you name it: if you wanted to appear successful, hip and classy, fur was not an accessory; it was a necessity. Even old movies will show the fashion symbol of beauty and success was fur. Today, we get excited when someone is able to find someone wearing fur and post "Hey, check out Celebrity X, they've got on fur." From about 1985 and earlier, no one would have thought it unusual or significant enough to mention. Also, a lot of people point to the '87 market crash as the reason for the downturn in prices. Yes and no. The "yes" part is that it was and is an easy answer. The "no" part is that the actual fur market had already moved on; what was buoying prices were the speculators who were were looking for 1977-1982 prices to return. Fashion did not change in a day; speculation did. Fur in fashion was already, trending downward. It's just that no one wanted to believe it. The amount of some of their losses was staggering. The downsizing in the fur business was immediate and massive. Just pick up an old fur ranchers or trappers magazine from 1985 and compare to one from 1995 and see who was gone; some of them formerly major players.
As long as it's a heads-and-tails market, it will be just a hobby or crafters market. What I would love to see is a desire for what lies between the head and tail. I hope all parts of the fur market survive and return to profitability.
Just my thoughts as I sit here looking down on the river. There's trout in that water boys.

Totally agree fur was once an necessity for warmth before synthetics, then became a fashion statement now it is a thing of the past save the crafters market and extreme cold climate. If Russia Korea and China become big players again things might change but would not hold my breath with Covid.

The ranch in Wisconsin is a huge ranch and they are losing a lot of the old breeders as kits aren’t as much effected. The ranch mink industry is at a tipping point right now. With drastically reduced numbers and still demand for mink there may be a future. But if corona kills tons of mink and prices don’t improve quickly this industry will fold.

If the young are less impacted and the ranch wants to continue at least they can keep breeding stock from their best lines for the future, if there indeed is a future in ranch or wild fur. There has been reports of infected ranch mink in Europe but has anyone heard of large scale deaths or die offs? I have not. We have a very large ranch not too far from my place. Will wait to see if there are COVID issues with their ranch.

Bryce

Being covid related perhaps the usda will subsidize the loss. Cash flow blessing in disguise

I'm more concerned about the spreading of this disease from Human to animal- IF that is what happened.

What would happen to this if this somehow effects the Cattle, chickens, Pork, Cows Markets, Not sure if it will happen but if it can get in the mink, it might be possibly it could go else ware. think about that, you think its bad now- this would be a free lunch compared to it if this mutates elsewhere. I think the word is Pestilence.. Not Good...


Be Kind To Others !

U think this all really 100 per cent true an not exaggerated at all ? I know for fact that other things greatly exaggerated in news, i dont believe everthing I hear

Poland and holland have had outbreaks. Denmark has killed over a million mink because of the corona. This is worldwide.

What is the crafter's market? If I make and sell fur head wear or hand coverings or scarfs, etc is this not just some of the same stuff that sells retail after the middlemen take their cut and Chinese produce it?

Or is the crafter's market where I make artwork out of fur?

Thanks, I knew there were outbreaks but had not heard of deaths or numbers of deaths. I wonder if this is killing the ranch mink in China? That is were the lower quality brown mink come from mainly that replace muskrats.

Bryce

I asked my vet buddy about this yesterday. His opinion is that the virus was spread by a person infected that had contact with the mink. Person to animal contact.
No known case where it is transmitted from animal to human. Has to make one wonder what really happened in the Chinese lab?