Will welfare checks improve conditions on fur farms?_BBC

Will welfare checks improve conditions on fur farms?

"They are quite good learners, says Mr Moller's colleague, Jens Malmkvist, "so in that way, we can say we ask the animal what they want instead of what we think they want.

"The nest box - they want to work for this permanently. They will work for access to swimming water and they will work for access to a running wheel - however, on a low level, so maybe this is more like a luxury thing. It is a 'nice to have' rather than a 'need to have'."

Will welfare checks improve conditions on fur farms?4

Image captionA mink emerges from its nest box

Those conclusions, based on various scientific studies, might seem rather convenient for the fur industry. Nest boxes are already attached to cages on mink farms. Adding running wheels or access to swimming water would be harder and more costly.

"We have done a lot of studies on other things that are easier to give them, like permanent access to straw or a shelf or something to play with," says Mr Malmkvist.

"The resources in the cage do matter for them, so we don't decide what they should have, but we try to provide some knowledge - if you have to enrich the cages, which things should you do first?

"And then, swimming water is not in the front line. It would be enriching for mink probably, but it's not the first thing to do if you have to invest in cages."

Farms which have resources that mink appear to value most in scientific studies will score well under the "Welfur" scheme. Lesser scores are given for enrichments that are not so highly valued or are considered unproven.