Court denies B.C. farmers' interim request to lift ban on mink breeding

A British Columbia Supreme Court judge has denied a request by mink farmers for interim relief that would suspend a prohibition on breeding the animals while their legal petition against the province proceeds.

The Agriculture Ministry announced in November live mink would not be permitted on farms by 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 B.C. Mink Producers Association filed a judicial review in response, arguing the province chose to permanently shut down the industry without clearly understanding the health risks posed by mink farming.

They argued the government's plan infringes on international and interprovincial trade, which are federal jurisdictions, and say the decision to phase out the industry was unreasonable.

Mink only breed in March, and the farmers claim in the interim petition if they miss the opportunity and the court later agrees with their argument, they won't be able to resume operations in 2023.

However, in the decision posted online, Justice Carol J. Ross rejected the petition, saying that while there are serious questions to be answered, the province was acting in the public's best interest in phasing out the farms.

“Mink is the leading domesticated animal reservoir of the virus. While no variant of concern has occurred, that remains a possibility,” Ross says in her decision.

“I agree with the respondents that the pandemic requires proactive and speedy action by the government and that sometimes this will entail significant economic consequences. There is a risk of the evolution of a new variant of concern leading to a new wave of COVID -19 which could be a potentially catastrophic outcome.”

Joseph Williams, a third generation mink farmer and president of the B.C. Mink Producers Association, said Sunday the group is now focused on the judicial review, but even if the decision is overturned, the damage is irreversible.

“They've ruined generations of work. There is no phase out. No breeding means we're out of business now,” he said.

The Agriculture Ministry said in an emailed statement that it accepts the court's ruling.