Irish Examiner view: Mink no more

We all, at one time or another, cross the line between want and need. As Christmas approaches that line will be crossed thousands of times; we will buy something we want but don't need. That equation is behind fur farming today. Some of us, an ever-declining number, might like a mink coat for Christmas but no-one needs such a luxurious statement of affluence today. That each coat is made from sentient animals that spent their short, unpleasant lives confined in small cages hardly adds to their allure.

Ireland's farmed mink population will be culled over Covid-19 fears. There are an estimated 120,000 mink in Ireland's three mink farms. They may be processed but cannot be replaced. This expedites a move agreed under the programme for Government and cannot but add to the animal welfare debate.

If mink farming is unacceptable how can intensive chicken, pig and, say, beef feed-lot production be acceptable? The argument that you cannot eat a mink coat is a glib response but it does not address the core question around how we mistreat animals. A Rubicon is being crossed it seems.