A mink smells the air as it searches the riverbank in search of food, in a meadow near the village of Khatenchitsy, Belarus, northwest of Minsk, September 4, 2015. A judge of the Supreme Court of BC. rejected a request from mink breeders for temporary relief that would allow them to raise the animals while their court case against the province is ongoing. THE CANADIAN PRESS / AP-Sergei Grits A judge of the Supreme Court of British Columbia has rejected a request by Mink farmers for temporary relief that would suspend the ban on raising animals, while their legal appeal against the province continues. The Ministry of Agriculture announced in November that live mink would not be allowed on farms until April 2023 and the industry would be phased out two years later, citing concerns that farms would become a “reservoir” for COVID-19 infections. The Canadian Mink Breeders Association and the BC Mink Producers Association filed a lawsuit in response, arguing that the province chose to shut down the industry permanently without clearly understanding the health risks of mink farming. They have argued that the government’s plan violates international and interstate trade, which is federal jurisdiction, and say the decision to phase out the industry was unreasonable. Mink only reproduces in March and the farmers claim in the interim report that if they miss the opportunity and the court later agrees with their argument, they will not be able to continue their operation in 2023. However, in a decision posted online Friday, Judge Carol J. Ross dismissed the petition, saying that while there were serious questions to be answered, the county was acting in the public interest in phasing out the farms. Ross says in her ruling that the farmers proved that the ban would cause irreparable damage to the industry. “Mink is the leading reservoir of domesticated virus. Although no variant of concern has emerged, this remains a possibility,” Ross said in her decision. “I agree with the respondents that the pandemic requires precautionary and rapid action by the government and that sometimes this will have significant economic consequences. There is a risk of a new variant of concern leading to a new COVID-19 wave that could be a potentially catastrophic result “. Joseph Williams, a third-generation mink farmer and president of the BC Mink Producers Association, said in an interview Sunday that the group is now focusing on judicial review, but even if the decision is overturned, the damage is irreversible. “Generations of work have been destroyed. There is no phasing out. Without reproduction means we are out of business now,” he said. “If we had been allowed to breed, we could have recovered. Now we are fighting for our right to the farm and we will go from there.” The agriculture ministry said in an e-mailed statement that it accepted the court ruling and said its plan to phase out mink farms in the province was based on the advice of public health experts. “The decision was followed by consultations, meetings and discussions with public health officials, animal health experts and mink producers regarding the management of the virus threat,” the ministry said in an email. He said he would “continue to reach out and work with farmers and mink workers to help them pursue other farming, business or job opportunities that support their families.” The Ministry of Health did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Williams said the union understood the public health concerns, but said it did not agree with the decision to shut down the industry. “We have serious concerns about how the government has handled this,” he said. “They did not even look at the COVID mink vaccine.” In November, Nova Scotia announced plans to vaccinate thousands of minkers against COVID-19 as it increased funding for ranchers, but British Columbia said more research was needed to determine if vaccination was an option as it phased out the mink industry.
