Pamela Anderson has penned a letter to B.C. Premier, John Horgan, asking him close down fur farms in British Columbia.

AndersonB次元官网网址檚 letter comes after a COVID-19 outbreak was declared at a Chilliwack mink farm. Test results taken from five mink samples have all been confirmed positive for COVID-19 by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Fisheries. Minks are among a small list of animals that can contract COVID-19.

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B.C.B次元官网网址檚 chief veterinarian has placed the farm under a quarantine order prohibiting the movement of animals and materials from the property. A plan is in place to provide feed and care to the mink during the outbreak. The plan respects the conditions of the quarantine and maintains worker and mink safety.

The farm was inspected by the chief veterinarian and ministry staff as part of a routine inspection process in September 2020 and was found to comply with all animal welfare and biosecurity standards. The outbreak at this farm is not considered to pose a health risk to other mink farms.

According to the BC SPCA, there are 13 mink farms in B.C., almost all of which are in the Fraser Valley. In 2018, over 260,000 mink were killed for fur in B.C.

Anderson implored Horgan to ban fur farms in B.C., saying that consumers, and the fashion industry as a whole, are moving away from fur products. She referenced mink farms around the world that have suffered COVID-19 outbreaks, and said that minks live in B次元官网网址榝ilthy, cramped wire cages amid their own wasteB次元官网网址�.

B次元官网网址淭he world is a much different place than it was even a few months ago. No one, including minks, deserves to die of COVID-19, and I hope to hear that you will make the lifesaving decision to shut down British ColumbiaB次元官网网址檚 mink farms without delay,B次元官网网址� Anderson wrote.

Horgan has not yet responded to AndersonB次元官网网址檚 letter. However, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Fisheries said in a statement that it is looking at strategies to manage COVID-19 outbreaks at mink farms.

B次元官网网址淭he susceptibility of mink to COVID-19 is a relatively new discovery and we will need to take the time to look at the relevant science and review how other jurisdictions are dealing with outbreaks. Keeping people and animals safe from COVID-19 remains our highest priority,B次元官网网址� they said.

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Alan Herscovici is the founding editor of , and spoke on behalf of the Canadian Mink Breeders Assocaition (CMBA).

He said that B.C. mink farms operate under national codes of practice for the care and handling of farmed mink, and denied that mink live in their own waste.

B次元官网网址淭he reason thereB次元官网网址檚 a wire bottom in the cage is so that the waste falls away from them,B次元官网网址� Herscovici said. B次元官网网址淭he idea that mink live in miserable conditions is such stupidity. The only way you can produce high quality fur is by taking good care of the animals.B次元官网网址�

Herscovici also noted that mink farmers have enhanced their bio-security practices to prevent COVID-19 tranmission between humans and mink.

B次元官网网址淭his is a time we should be supporting our farmers. I think itB次元官网网址檚 disgraceful that people will take advantage of a serious problem B次元官网网址� where mink farmers are working to protect their mink, their familiess, and their livelihoods B次元官网网址� and use it as a pretext to attack for their own ideological purposes,B次元官网网址� Herscovici said.

Read Pamela AndersonB次元官网网址檚 entire letter below:

B次元官网网址淚 hope this letter finds you well. Thank you for all that youB次元官网网址檙e doing to help keep my fellow Canadians safe during these uncertain times. In light of the news that thereB次元官网网址檚 currently a COVID-19 outbreak on a mink farm in British Columbia, IB次元官网网址檓 writing to ask that you close down fur farms in the province immediately.

Minks on fur farms all over the worldB次元官网网址攊ncluding in Denmark, Greece, the Netherlands, Spain, and the U.S.B次元官网网址攈ave been infected with the novel coronavirus by workers, and Denmark started killing all 17 million minks on its fur farms after a mutant strain of the virus spread from minks to humans. As you can see in this PETA video of Canadian mink farms, minks are warehoused inside filthy, cramped wire cages amid their own waste. These stressed, injured, and often sick animals are so closely packed together that blood, urine, and excrement can easily contaminate adjacent cages. Not only are these conditions extremely cruel to animals, they also create a perfect breeding ground for deadly diseases.

Even before the pandemic, fur was a dying industry. In recent years, former fur-wearers, including Queen Elizabeth II, have had a change of heart and major fashion brandsB次元官网网址攊ncluding Chanel, Prada, Gucci, and Michael KorsB次元官网网址攈ave ditched fur. More than a dozen countries around the world have shut down fur farms, and the worldB次元官网网址檚 oldest and largest fur auction houses, North American Fur Auctions and Kopenhagen Fur, are exiting the industry.

The world is a much different place than it was even a few months ago. No one, including minks, deserves to die of COVID-19, and I hope to hear that you will make the lifesaving decision to shut down British ColumbiaB次元官网网址檚 mink farms without delay.B次元官网网址�