“People will also be looking at other types of fur. Fox has been very popular for trimmings, in parkas for example. Wild fur is also becoming more popular, as is chinchilla.”

After Denmark decided to kill 17 million farmed mink following virus outbreaks at hundreds of farms, premier fashion labels from Louis Vuitton to Fendi are switching to fox, chinchilla, and sable furs to offset the anticipated shortage in mink supply.

Denmark accounted for about 40 % of the global supply of mink fur, and the sudden disruption in the global fur trade, worth more than $22 billion a year, has lifted prices by as much as 30% in Asia, the International Fur Federation (IFF) told Reuters.

Other countries to replace Danish output

The IFF head, Mark Oaten, said that though there was enough mink stock to meet demand in 2021, “we are hoping mink farmers in Canada, Poland, America and Greece will increase production to replace Danish output,” for 2022.

“People will also be looking at other types of fur. Fox has been very popular for trimmings, in parkas for example. Wild fur is also becoming more popular, as is chinchilla,” he added.

China, which was the second biggest producer of mink fur behind Denmark, has already started resuming breeding for mink.

Chinese mink suppliers and traders who had been struggling in recent years due to declining overseas demand have also started increasing their profit margins.

“It felt great,” said Wang He, a Shangcun mink trader and breeder, whose earnings increased 30-50% after Denmark ordered the cull.

Finnish auction house Saga Furs is set to hold an international online sale next week where one million mink and 250,000 fox pelts will be on sale for buyers in Korea, China, and the United States among other countries.

“We’ve already had more requests about foxes, if people see that there is a lack of mink, they could consider using something else,” Saga Furs CEO Magnus Ljung told Reuters.

‘Fur farms are ticking time bombs for deadly diseases’

However, animal activists believe Denmark’s mink cull will finish off the fur industry.

Countries and states including Britain, Austria, the Netherlands, France, Norway, Israel, and California have already passed laws banning fur farms or their products.

PJ Smith, director of fashion policy at Humane Society International, said brands still using real fur will ditch it soon, following Gucci, Chanel, Versace, Armani, Prada and Coach, which have all gone fur-free.

According to Dr. Joanna Swabe from the Humane Society International: “Fur farms are not only the cause of immense and unnecessary animal suffering, they are also ticking time bombs for deadly diseases.”

• Read: Shocking images of starving foxes feeding on rotting corpses highlight ‘depraving conditions’ on Polish fur farm

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Mohsina Dodhiya

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