Fur farming is the practice of breeding or raising certain types of animals for their fur.
The animal most commonly farmed for its fur is the mink. As of 2003, Denmark had the largest fur-farming industry, with 35% of world production.
Demand fell in the late 1980s and 1990s because of a number of factors, including the failure of designers to come up with exciting new lines, and also the efforts of animal rights campaigners. Since the turn of the millennium, however, sales worldwide have soared to record highs, fuelled by radically new techniques for working with fur, and a sharp rise in disposable income in China and Russia. This growing demand has led to the development of extensive fur farming operations in countries such as China, where activist groups such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals have raised concerns about what they allege is the inhumane treatment of animals (animals are sometimes skinned while alive) and the nature of some slaughterhouse practices.

History

Mink
The international trade in chinchilla fur goes back to the 1500s and the animal (whose name literally means "Little Chincha") is named after the Chincha people of the Andes, who wore its soft and dense fur. By the end of the 19th century, chinchillas had become quite rare. In 1923, Mathias F. Chapman brought the eleven wild chinchillas he had captured to the U.S. for breeding. Only three of these were female. Pop musician Madonna wore a chinchilla fur coat, made of an estimated 40 chinchillas in December 2006, [1] and this outraged animal rights groups who accused the star of ignoring the reality of how animals are farmed for their skins. [2]

Controversy
Fur farming was banned in England and Wales by the Fur Farming (Prohibition) Act 2000[4] and in Scotland by the Fur Farming (Prohibition) (Scotland) Act 2002.[5]
At second reading, the ban in England and Wales was justified principally on grounds of public morality.[6]
In Austria, six of the nine federal states have banned fur farming and in the remaining three there are such strict welfare regulations, in relation to the availability of swimming water, that fur farming is no longer economically viable.

Bont voor Dieren: Support Our Efforts for Animal Rights. Bont voor Dieren. Retrieved on December 29, 2005.
Bont voor Dieren: Support Our Efforts to Protect Fur Animals.