Under the Musk Rats Act 1933 (Application to Mink) Order 1965 the keeping of mink is prohibited except under licence from my Department. Six licensed fur farms operate in the country at present. In accordance with the legislation, the conditions for a licence set out the nature of the premises upon which mink may be kept, the precautions to be taken to prevent the escape of mink, the duration of the licence and the returns to be made by the licence holder.
Fur farming is regulated for animal welfare purposes by the provisions of the Protection of Animals kept for Farming Purposes Act 1984 and the European Communities (Protection of Animals kept for farming purposes) Regulations 2000 which transposes the provision of EU Directive 98/58/EC concerning the protection of animals kept for farming purposes. Licensed fur farms are inspected by officials from my Department to assess compliance with this legislation and with the European Communities (Protection of Animals at Time of Slaughter) Regulations 1995 and in addition the Council of Europe recommendations concerning fur animals. Three farms were visited at the time of slaughter in 2004 and five farms were visited in 2005. The slaughter methods witnessed were carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. The number of animals slaughtered in each box simultaneously varied nationally from 50 to 70.