Video shows mink pulled from cages and thrown ‘like rubbish’ into gas chambers on Dutch fur farms

Sign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planet Get our free Climate email Get our free Climate email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Mink were pulled from cages by their tails or hind legs and hurled into mobile gas chambers on fur farms in the Netherlands, video footage has revealed. Mink farming in the Netherlands had been due to be phased out by 2024, but when outbreaks of coronavirus in the animals were discovered on fur farms in several countries earlier this year, the Dutch government brought the date forward to March next year to prevent fur farms acting as Covid reservoirs. The footage, secretly shot on two farms last week by Dutch group Animal Rights, shows the animals being pulled roughly from cages and thrown one after the other towards mobile gas chambers, sometimes from a great distance. “Thankfully, these will be the last mink to suffer on Dutch fur farms but it has never been more important for the UK to stop providing a market for this cruel industry.” European regulations ban lifting or pulling animals “by the head, ears, horns, legs, tail or fur, or to treat them in such a way that it causes them pain or causes avoidable suffering”.