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Draft Code of Practice for the Farming of Mink for

Public Consultation


To be adopted by the Minister of Agriculture,
Food and the Marine under Section 25 of the
Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013


















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For the purposes of the code stock-keeper means the owner of the mink or the person
responsible for looking after them.

1. Stockmanship
1. All those engaged in the keeping, breeding or killing of mink must ensure that every
reasonable step is taken to safeguard the health and welfare of the mink.
2. Stock-keepers working with mink should have a suitable temperament, be respectful of
the mink, and be competent in the care and handling of mink. Farms should have work
instructions or routines for all animal attendants to follow and Standard Operating
Procedures should be in effect for all crucial activities.
3. The mink shall be cared for by a sufficient number of personnel with adequate knowledge
of the mink concerned, the husbandry system and the killing facilities used. In particular
the stock-keepers shall be able to:
(a) recognise whether or not the mink are in good health;
(b) understand the significance of behavioural changes;
(c) appreciate the suitability of the total environment for the minks health and welfare.
(d) be familiar with the contents of Standard Operating Procedures.
The stock-keeper must be aware of the role of animal welfare in the daily work with the
mink and must be able to recognise whether the total environment is adequate to keep the
mink healthy and if it provides for the fulfilment of their biological needs, including those
to show certain behaviours. All farm staff should be encouraged to participate in
continuing education activities related to animal health and welfare
4. In order to develop a positive relationship between man and animal, there should be
appropriate careful handling and other contact so that the mink are habituated to human
contact from an early age.
5. On-farm record keeping relating to health and mortality is essential. Detailed and accurate
record keeping helps producers identify health issues early and serves as an indicator of
overall herd health status.
6. Prevention of health problems is always preferable to treatment. Biosecurity protocols
should be adopted on-farm and herd health management programs implemented.

7. On-farm management practices significantly affect animal health, animal welfare, and
production. Best management practices are only effective tools for managing animal
health, maintaining good animal welfare, and achieving high production if they are well
implemented. Farms should have work instructions or routines for all animal attendants to
follow.

8. The Private Veterinary Practitioner (PVP) should be consulted in the development of on-
farm biosecurity and herd health programs, provide information and access to

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medications to be used as required, and advice and direction on diagnosis and treatment
of ill or injured mink. Herd health programs must be tailored to meet the needs of each
individual farm and must consider the overall health of the herd as well as that of
individual mink.

9. It is important to maintain continuous observation of mink so that appropriate action can
be taken to minimise stereotypical behaviour. It is up to the owners/keepers to ensure that
those working with mink are aware of what constitutes stereotypical behaviour and are
able to identify when issues arise.




































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2. Housing

General Requirements

1. Professional advice on health and welfare aspects should be sought when new enclosures,
housing or equipment are to be constructed or existing enclosures, housing or equipment
are to be modified.

2. New methods of husbandry and new design of equipment or accommodation for mink
should be comprehensively tested from the point of view of health and welfare and, when
tests are undertaken, shall not be put into commercial use unless found to be satisfactory

3. When new accommodation for mink is planned, a suitable site shall be selected, taking
into consideration the risk of outside environmental factors such as noise, vibration and
atmospheric pollution, as well as the facilities to fulfil species-specific needs for certain
environmental facilities. Full advantage shall be taken of natural features to provide
shelter from adverse climatic conditions.

4. The design, construction and maintenance of enclosures, buildings and equipment must,

fulfil the minks biological needs, including those to carry out certain behaviours,
provide shelter from adverse climatic conditions,
maintain good conditions of hygiene,
limit the risk of disease, disorders manifested by behavioural changes, traumatic
injuries to the mink, or injuries caused by the mink to each other,
respect the security conditions which are necessary for fire prevention and protection,
avoid sharp corners and projections.
If cages are used, their openings must be such that the mink can be removed without
difficulty,
allow, without difficulty, thorough inspection of all mink.


5. The design, construction and maintenance of enclosures, buildings and equipment for
mink shall allow thorough inspection of all animals without difficulty.
Floors shall be well drained in order to evacuate droppings and spills of water or other
liquid, and such as to avoid discomfort, distress or traumatic injury to the mink. Materials
used for floors shall be appropriate for mink.
6. Equipment should be available for the proper handling of mink under examination,
treatment or test.

7. Suitable accommodation should be available for separation and, where necessary for
isolation so that sick or injured mink can be carefully examined and treated.

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8. Every mink shall have available to it an area where it can hide itself appropriately from
people or from mink in other cages or pens.

9. The premises on which pelting takes place shall be situated sufficiently far from the
enclosures used for other animals so that these animals are not disturbed.

Specific Requirements

1. Minimum space for mink
Free area (cm
2
)
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(excluding nest boxes)
Single adult animal 2550
Single adult with cubs 2550
Juveniles after weaning, up to 2 animals 2550
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The minimum height of any accommodation shall be 45 cm.
The figures above shall apply for new systems or when existing systems are replaced.
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No accommodation shall be less than 30 cm wide excluding nest box.
No accommodation shall be less than 70 cm long excluding nest box.
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For each additional animal more than 2, an additional 850 cm
2
shall be provided.

2. A nest box of thermo-insulating material, which is not hazardous to the health of the
mink, with a sufficient floor area shall be available. The design of the opening of the nest
box shall allow new born mink to be retained while providing easy access for other
animals. Suitable bedding and occupational material such as straw shall be regularly
provided, and its adequacy must be checked, especially during the period of giving birth
and in the cold season.

3. Immature mink shall not be kept isolated. Stable relationships are most easily obtained in
groups of mink reared together. Group sizes and stocking densities of these mink shall be
such that they allow for peaceful cohabitation and adjusted where there are indications of
problems. Weaning of young shall take place at an age which is most beneficial to the
welfare of the mother and the young, and shall take place not earlier than eight weeks of
age. Only in exceptional circumstances where the welfare of the mother or the young is
endangered, can the weaning take place at a younger age. Weaned young should not be
left in the vicinity of their mother.


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4. Where there is a significant level of stereotypy or self-mutilation in mink on a farm, the
system of housing or management shall be changed appropriately so that the welfare of
the mink is improved. If these measures are not sufficient then production should be
suspended.

5. When breeding mink are paired together or, in exceptional circumstances, when adult
mink are placed in the same accommodation, there shall be adequate supervision.

6. Cages must not be placed one above the other and must be placed at a sufficient height to
allow the easy removal of faeces.


7. In the design, construction or reconstruction of accommodation for the mink, endeavours
shall be made to develop and apply systems which are, in the light of available scientific
knowledge, appropriate to their biological needs.

Environment
1. Mink are receptive to environmental enrichment. Enrichments can help to reduce the
development of stereotypies in mink, but may not decrease or eliminate stereotypies once
they have been developed. Therefore, enrichments should be introduced early in life (to
juveniles) as a preventative measure against the development of stereotypies.

2. The mink shall be provided with an environment which takes into consideration their
biological characteristics as established on the basis of knowledge and experience from
nature and from the farm situation. Enrichments that can be manipulated tend to be
preferred by mink over fixed objects. Some enrichments can have a novel effect; once the
novelty wears off, the effectiveness of that enrichment is reduced.

3. Owners should provide an enrichment that can be manipulated by the mink or different
novel objects (to avoid habituation); once an environmental enrichment like this has been
provided, access to such enrichments should be maintained for the rest of the life of that
mink as removal may cause frustration.











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3. Health

1. Providing sick or injured mink with comfort, appropriate care, and/or euthanasia are
priorities for good animal welfare. An effective health management program will help
with early identification of individual mink that are in pain, sick, or injured and will have
established procedures for treating or euthanizing those animals. An effective herd health
program will also monitor herd health and performance to help with early
identification/diagnosis of any herd health issues or disease outbreaks.
2. All mink shall be thoroughly inspected at least once a day in the least disturbing manner
for the particular species, and in so far as this would not unnecessarily disturb nests.
When necessary a source of light shall be available for this purpose. Such inspections
shall be made independently of any automatic surveillance equipment.
3. For thorough inspection of the mink, special attention shall be paid to bodily condition,
condition of hair, skin, eyes, ears, tail, legs and feet. Healthy animals have sounds,
activity, movements and posture appropriate to their species, age, sex, breed or
physiological condition. Signs of good health include: clear bright eyes, good posture,
clean and, depending on species and season, shiny coat, sound feet and legs, normal
feeding, drinking, sucking or suckling behaviour if appropriate, normal getting up, lying
down, and resting behaviour and otherwise normal movements, posture and behaviour.
4. Thorough inspection does not mean that each mink has to be examined individually.
Individual examination is to be made only of those animals for which the overall
inspection indicates this as being necessary.
5. At the inspection it must be borne in mind that signs of ill health include listlessness, loss
of appetite, discharge from the nostrils or eyes, excessive salivation, persistent coughing,
swollen joints, lameness, scouring and behavioural aberrations. Attention shall also be
paid to the presence of external parasites, to the condition of droppings and to feed and
water consumption.
6. If mink are apparently not in good health, or if they are showing obvious signs of
behavioural aberrations, the person responsible for them shall take steps without delay to
establish the cause and shall take appropriate remedial action. If the immediate action
taken by the person responsible is not effective a veterinarian must be consulted or, if
necessary, other expert advice must be sought.
If the cause is traced to a factor which it is not essential or possible to remedy
immediately, this should be corrected when the accommodation is emptied or in any case
within 12 months.
7. Injured, sick or distressed mink shall be treated without delay and, if necessary, be
separated in suitable accommodation for this purpose or humanely euthanised.

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4. Killing


1. All slaughter of mink must be carried out under the supervision of a person who holds a
certificate of competence in all the areas under their supervision. The areas for which a
certificate of competence is needed are:

a. Practical aspects of handling and restraining animals.
b. Practical aspects of stunning techniques and knowledge of manufacturers
instructions on stunning equipments.
c. Back-up stunning and/or killing methods.
d. Monitoring the effectiveness of stunning and confirmation of death.
e. Basic maintenance and cleaning of stunning and/or killing equipment.

2. Personnel carrying out certain slaughter operations and people supervising the seasonal
killing of mink are required to have a certificate of competence relevant to the operations
they perform in accordance with Council Regulation 1099 of 2009 on the Protection of
Animals at Time of Killing.

3. Owners must notify the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine in advance of
the dates for killing.

4. Business operators shall plan in advance the killing of mink and related operations and
shall carry them out in accordance with standard operating procedures in accordance with
Council Regulation 1099 of 2009 on the Protection of Animals at Time of Killing.



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5. Biosecurity and Contingency Planning

1. Pathogens, pests, and visitors all pose risks to the health and welfare of the mink.
Biosecurity measures are imperative for maintaining the health and welfare of mink on
the farm. Biosecurity programs need to consider: access management, animal
management and operational management.

2. Owners shall ensure that there is adequate fencing and security arrangements within the
farm to ensure security.
3. There must be a suitable contingency plan in place to deal with the outbreak of fire, a
breakdown of electricity supplies, freezing conditions or issues with food or water supply.
4. These plans shall be up-to-date and must be readily accessible at all times and available
for inspection by Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine inspectors. All staff
must be familiar with the existence of the plan and its contents.
5. Prompt collection and containment of dead stock is imperative to minimise the health risk
to other animals.
6. Manure must be handled to minimize contamination. Manure should be removed from
mink sheds at frequent intervals e.g., at the end of a production cycle, following an illness
in the herd. Manure should be handled, transported, and stored to prevent potential
contamination. Manure storage should be located away from the mink housing area and in
a manner that minimizes pest and scavenger access. Shed and site run-off should be
controlled to minimize the spread of pathogens.
7. Bedding must be clean and dry to reduce the risk of compromising mink health.
8. An integrated pest management programs should be in place on the farm.
9. Sanitation plays an important role in the health and welfare of mink. Sheds, pens and nest
boxes should be cleaned at the end of the production cycle and after illness to reduce the
risk of spreading pathogens on the farm.








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6. Relevant Legislation
Welfare
Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013
SI 311 European Communities (Welfare of Farmed Animals) Regulations 2010
Council Regulations (EC) No 1099/2009 on the protection of animals at the time of killing
Council of Europe Standing Committee of the European Convention for the Protection of
Animals Kept for Farming Purposes: Recommendation Concerning Fur Animals 1999
S.I. 292/2013 European Union (Protection of animals at the time of killing) Regulations 2013
Musk Rats Act 1933
Animal Remedies Act
Animal By-Products Legislation