Mink Farms Research Articles

SARS-CoV-2 wildlife surveillance surrounding mink farms in British Columbia, Canada.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) can infect many wild and domestic animal species. Farmed American mink (Neovison vison) are particularly susceptible to infection. Outbreaks of SARS-CoV-2 were detected in farmed mink on three mink farms in British Columbia (BC), Canada between December 2020 and May 2021. In BC, mink farm density and proximity to wildlife habitats increase transmission risks from infected farmed mink. The objective of this study is to investigate the risk of SARS-CoV-2 spreading to and from wildlife in the area surrounding infected mink farms in BC, Canada, as well as to compare the effectiveness of physical and camera trapping surveillance methodologies. A combination of physical and camera trapping was used on and around three BC mink farms with active SARS-CoV-2 infections between January 22, 2021, and July 10, 2021. Samples from trapped animals, including escaped farmed mink, were tested for SARS-CoV-2. Camera images from one mink farm were reviewed to determine species and proximity to the mink barn. Seventy-one animals of nine species were captured and sampled. Three captured mink tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 by polymerase chain reaction and serology; the remaining samples were negative for SARS-CoV-2. Genotyping of the three positive mink indicated these were domestic (vs. wild) mink. A total of 440 animals of 16 species were photographed at the one farm where cameras were deployed. Detection of SARS-CoV-2 in escaped farmed mink is concerning and demonstrates the potential for transmission from farmed mink to wildlife, particularly given the observation of wildlife known to be susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 near infected mink farms. Combined use of physical and camera trapping contributed to the breadth of the results and is strongly recommended for future surveillance.

One Health response to SARS-CoV-2-associated risk from mink farming in British Columbia, Canada, October 2020 to October 2021.

Mink farms are susceptible to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) outbreaks and carry an associated risk of novel SARS-CoV-2 variant emergence and non-human reservoir creation. In Denmark, control measures were insufficient to prevent onward transmission of a mink-associated variant, contributing to the nation-wide culling of farmed mink. To date, British Columbia (BC) is the only Canadian province to report mink farm SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks. The objective of this study is to describe BC's One Health response to SARS-CoV-2-associated risk from mink farming, its outcomes, and insights from implementation. The detection of two mink farm outbreaks in December 2020 catalyzed BC's risk mitigation response for both infected and uninfected farms, including the following: farm inspections and quarantines; Public Health Orders mandating mink mortality surveillance, enhanced personal protective equipment, biosafety measures and worker coronavirus disease 2019 vaccination, at-a-minimum weekly worker viral testing, and wildlife surveillance. A One Health approach enabled a timely, evidence-informed and coordinated response as the situation evolved, including the use of various legislative powers, consistent messaging and combined human and mink phylogenetic analysis. Ongoing mink and worker surveillance detected asymptomatic/subclinical infections and facilitated rapid isolation/quarantine to minimize onward transmission. Voluntary testing and mandatory vaccination for workers were acceptable to industry; enhanced personal protective equipment requirements were challenging. Regular farm inspections helped to assess and improve compliance. British Columbia's One Health response reduced the risk of additional outbreaks, viral evolution and reservoir development; however, a third outbreak was detected in May 2021 despite implemented measures, and long-term sustainability of interventions proved challenging for both industry and governmental agencies involved.

SARS-CoV-2 in mink farms in British Columbia, Canada: A report of two outbreaks in 2020-2021.

Since April 2020, mink have been recognized as a potential reservoir for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and a potential source of new variants. The objective of this report is to describe the epidemiological investigation and public health response to two coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreaks that involved both humans and farmed mink. An outbreak was declared on December 4, 2020, following detection of two COVID-19-positive farmworkers and elevated mink mortality on a mink farm (Farm 1) in British Columbia. The second cluster was detected on Farm 3 following detection of 1) a COVID-19 case among farm staff on April 2, 2021, 2) an indeterminate result from farm staff on May 11, 2021, and 3) subsequent SARS-CoV-2-positive mink in May 2021. Quarantine of infected farms, isolation of workers and their close contacts, and introduction of enhanced infection control practises were implemented to break chains of transmission. Among mink farmworkers, 11 cases were identified at Farm 1 and 6 cases were identified at Farm 3. On both Farm 1 and Farm 3, characteristic COVID-19 symptoms were present in farm employees before signs were observed in the minks. The viral sequences from mink and human samples demonstrated close genetic relation. Phylogenetic analyses identified mink intermediates linking human cases, suggesting anthropo-zoonotic transmission. These were the first COVID-19 outbreaks that included infected mink herds in Canada and identified potential anthropogenic and zoonotic transmission of SARS-CoV-2. We provide insight into the positive impact of regulatory control measures and surveillance to reduce the spillover of SARS-CoV-2 mink variants into the general population.

Identification of mutant gene for Black crystal coat and non-allelic gene interactions in Neogale vison

Sable (Martes zibellina) and American mink (Neogale vison) are valuable species characterized by a variety of coat colour produced on fur farms. Black crystal fur phenotype is Mendelian codominant trait: heterozygous animals (Cr/ +) have white guard hairs scattered predominantly on the spine and the head, while homozygous (Cr/Cr) minks have coats resembling the Himalayan (ch/ch) or white Hedlund (h/h) types. It is one of the most recent of more than 35 currently known phenotypic traits of fur colour in American mink. Black crystal fur phenotype was first described in 1984 in the Russian population of mink, which had undergone selection for domestic defensive response to humans. Here, we performed whole-genome sequencing of American mink with Cr/Cr phenotype. We identified a missense mutation in the gene encoding the α-COP subunit of the COPI complex (COPA). The COPI complex mediates retrograde trafficking from the Golgi system to the endoplasmic reticulum and sorting of transmembrane proteins. We observed an interaction between a newly identified mutation in the COPA gene and a mutation in the microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF), the latter mutation led to the formation of the white Hedlund (h/h) phenotype. Double heterozygotes for these mutations have an entirely white coat and a black-eyed phenotype similar to the phenotype of Cr/Cr or h/h minks. Our data could be useful for tracking economically valuable fur traits in mink breeding programs to contribute to global fur production.

A new perspective on the evolution and diversity of the genus Amdoparvovirus (family Parvoviridae) through genetic characterization, structural homology modeling, and phylogenetics.

Amdoparvoviruses (genus Amdoparvovirus, family Parvoviridae) are primarily viruses of carnivorans, but recent studies have indicated that their host range might also extend to rodents and chiropterans. While their classification is based on the full sequence of the major nonstructural protein (NS1), several studies investigating amdoparvoviral diversity have been focused on partial sequences, leading to difficulties in accurately determining species demarcations and leaving several viruses unclassified. In this study, while reporting the complete genomic sequence of a novel amdoparvovirus identified in an American mink (British Columbia amdoparvovirus, BCAV), we studied the phylogenetic relationships of all amdoparvovirus-related sequences and provide a comprehensive reevaluation of their diversity and evolution. After excluding recombinant sequences, phylogenetic and pairwise sequence identity analyses allowed us to define fourteen different viruses, including the five currently classified species, BCAV, and four additional viruses that fulfill the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses criteria to be classified as species. We show that the group of viruses historically known as Aleutian mink disease virus (species Carnivore amdoparvovirus 1) should be considered as a cluster of at least four separate viral species that have been co-circulating in mink farms, facilitating the occurrence of inter-species recombination. Genome organization, splicing donor and acceptor sites, and protein sequence motifs were surprisingly conserved within the genus. The sequence of the major capsid protein virus protein 2 (VP2) was significantly more conserved between and within species compared to NS1, a phenomenon possibly linked to antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE). Homology models suggest a remarkably high degree of conservation of the spikes located near the icosahedral threefold axis of the capsid, comprising the surface region associated with ADE. A surprisingly high number of divergent amino acid positions were found in the luminal threefold and twofold axes of the capsid, regions of hitherto unknown function. We emphasize the importance of complete genome analyses and, given the marked phylogenetic inconsistencies across the genome, advise to obtain the complete coding sequences of divergent strains. Further studies on amdoparvovirus biology and structure as well as epidemiological and virus discovery investigations are required to better characterize the ecology and evolution of this important group of viruses.

The effect of vitamins A and D on the protein balance in the body of young rabbits

In feed for farm animals, the most expensive component is protein. To increase the intensity of its metabolism, fat-soluble vitamins are included in the feed of herbivorous animals. The effect of vitamins A and D on the balance of protein (nitrogen) in the body of young rabbits was studied by classical methods in a series of exchange (balance) experiments in the Department of Fur Animal Husbandry and Rabbit Breeding of the V. A. Afanasyev Scientific Research Institute of Fur Farming and Rabbit Breeding. From 12 heads of young rabbits of the Soviet Chinchilla breed at the age of 45 days, 3 groups of 4 heads each were formed according to the principle of analogues. Rabbits of the 1st - control group received full-fledged granular mixed feed (PGK) without additives, vitamin A was added to the mixed feed of rabbits of the 2nd group at the rate of 500 IU per 100 g, vitamin D was added to the mixed feed of the 3rd group at the rate of 150 IU per 100 g of mixed feed. As a result of three balance experiments, it was found that the groups practically did not differ in the amount of digested nitrogen. The excretion of nitrogen in the urine was stable, without significant differences in the groups. Thus, the addition of synthetic vitamins A and D to the diet does not affect the intensity of protein metabolism in young rabbits. The indicator of daily nitrogen deposition in rabbits aged 45-74 days is quite stable, on average 1.5 g per head. The percentage of nitrogen deposition to the accepted one is on average 49.55. The deposition of nitrogen in the body of young rabbits to the digested nitrogen of the diet is quite high – 76.5%, which indicates the rational use of protein by rabbits for plastic needs.

Radiographic location of the aortic arch and its branches in domestic cats and eurasian lynx

Relevance. The domestic cat (Felis catus) and the eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) belong to the same family — feline, predatory order. The cat was domesticated more than 10 thousand years ago. Lynx is the most promising animal for domestication. It is successfully bred in fur farms and, which is no longer uncommon, is kept by private owners as a pet. At the same time, the anatomy of these animals has not been studied to date. This makes it much more difficult to provide medical care and does not allow us to trace changes in organs with intensive anthropogenic impact on the body during domestication. In this regard, the study of the morphology of the eurasian lynx is very relevant and timely. Material for research (11 eurasian lynx corpses) wasobtained in hunting farms of the North-Western region of the Russian Federation. Corpses of a domestic cat (mestizos) were obtained from veterinary clinics of St. Petersburg (15 animals studied).Methods. A complex of modern and traditional methods was used in the study: fine anatomical dissection, angiorentgenography, computed tomography; production of corrosive and enlightened vascular preparations, morphometry and photographing.Results. The domestic cat (Felis catus) and the eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) have significant differences in the topography and branching of the aortic arch and thoracic aorta, despite the close relationship in taxonomy. The eurasian lynx is characterized by the presence of a brachiocephalic trunk and a trunk of common carotid arteries. Similar vascular structures are absent in a domestic cat. For them, the presence of the brachiocephalic artery and the independent departure of the right and left common carotid arteries, without the formation of a common trunk, was established. At the same time, we state that some main arterial transport vessels and their branches in these animals have common principles of location. This pattern has been determined for the vertebral, internal and external thoracic arteries, including their branches of the first order.

Tetracycline- and Macrolide-Resistant Enterococcus Species Isolated from a Mink Farm in the United States.

Enterococcus species are a normal flora of animals and humans. However, life-threatening opportunistic infections can be caused by antimicrobial resistant strains. Fecal (n = 42) and feed (n = 8) samples were obtained from a mink farm and cultured for the enumeration and detection of erythromycin-resistant (a macrolide; ERYr)- and tetracycline-resistant (TETr) enterococci. ERYr and TETr enterococci were detected from all fecal (mean concentrations = 6 and 7 logs, respectively) and feed (mean concentrations = 5 and 4 logs, respectively) samples. While Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium were detected at equal proportions among the fecal TETr isolates, E. faecium predominated among ERYr fecal isolates. All ERYr and 90% of the TETr isolates (n = 50) were multidrug resistant (resistant to three or more antimicrobial classes). Among ERYr isolates, while 83% of E. faecalis (n = 12) were positive for erm(B), 58% of E. faecium (n = 38) isolates were positive for msr(C). Among ERYr isolates, tet(M) was detected from 92% of E. faecalis (n = 12) and 97% of E. faecium (n = 38) isolates. Conversely, however, erm(B) was detected in 18% of E. faecalis (n = 22) and 33% of E. faecium (n = 27) TETr isolates. Our study provides a baseline for future efforts to reduce antimicrobial resistance and improve antimicrobial stewardship in commercial mink production facilities.

Mechanisms behind the varying severity of Aleutian mink disease virus: Comparison of three farms with a different disease status

Aleutian mink disease virus (AMDV) is distributed widely among mink farms and wild mustelids despite ongoing attempts to stop the spread. The severity of Aleutian disease (AD) varies from subclinical to fatal but the reasons for its varying severity are complex and unclear. Recently, breeding of tolerant mink has drawn attention as the possible solution to reduce the effects of AD in farms. The aim of this study was to gather information on the effects of breeding based on overall health, production traits, and antibody titer on AD severity by comparing a positive farm (farm 1) that has been breeding for tolerance in mink to an infected farm without tolerance selection, and an AMDV-free farm. During the 2.5-year follow-up, the mink in farm 1 remained mostly free of clinical AD, had normal pelt quality and litter size, and had low virus copy numbers in tissues and low antibody titers in ELISA. In histopathological studies, most of the farm 1 mink had no/mild lesions in their kidneys. 29–43% of the mink were ELISA negative but PCR positive throughout the follow-up and frequent changes in virus strains and coinfections were observed. Several differences in gene expression between animals from different farms were also detected. These results indicate that the disease burden of AMDV can be reduced, with seemingly normal health and production rates, despite continual circulation of ADMV in cases where eradication attempts are unsuccessful.

Zooplankton assemblage and body size responses to severe lake eutrophication from agricultural activities near mink farms in Nova Scotia, Canada

Abstract Mink fur farming was once a widespread agricultural activity in southwestern Nova Scotia. Freshwaters near to and downstream of several mink fur farm operations have experienced severe water quality issues, including eutrophication and recurring algal blooms. Here, we use dated lake sediments to examine trends in primary producers and primary consumers from a hypereutrophic lake to assess how cladoceran assemblages have responded to extreme eutrophication. Shifts in the dominant pelagic cladoceran taxa began in the early 1900s, coinciding with an increase in sedimentary chlorophyll-a concentrations. Notably, small-bodied bosminids decreased, while taxa such as Chydorus brevilabris and Daphnia pulex spp. dominated assemblages in recent decades. Bottom-up ecological factors, such as decades of greater primary production, were the likely drivers of assemblage shifts of primary consumers. Consistent body sizes of bosminids throughout the sedimentary record suggested that pelagic cladocerans were not influenced solely by predation pressure from macroinvertebrates or fish. This study provides evidence of large-scale ecological shifts occurring at multiple trophic levels in a hypereutrophic temperate lake with mink farming operations in its catchment.

Fort Ancient wild turkey harvesting strategies in northern Kentucky

AbstractFox Farm (1300–1650 CE) is a 16.2 ha Native American farming village in Mason County, Kentucky. The wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) death assemblage documented for this site is suggestive of a harvesting strategy that differs from that of Fort Ancient villages occupied for shorter periods of time. Relative to those villages, the residents of Fox Farm killed twice as many male as female wild turkeys. By focusing on adult males, the residents of Fox Farm were able to maintain a sustainable wild turkey population in the vicinity of their village, which allowed them to live at this locality for more than 300 years.

Animal Fur Recognition Algorithm Based on Feature Fusion Network

China is a big country in animal fur industry. The total production and consumption of fur are increasing year by year. However, the recognition of fur in the fur production process still mainly relies on the visual identification of skilled workers, and the stability and consistency of products cannot be guaranteed. In response to this problem, this paper proposes a feature fusion-based animal fur recognition network on the basis of typical convolutional neural network structure, relying on rapidly developing deep learning techniques. This network superimposes texture feature - the most prominent feature of fur image - into the channel dimension of input image. The output feature map of the first layer convolution is inverted to obtain the inverted feature map and concat it into the original output feature map, then Leaky ReLU is used for activation, which makes full use of the texture information of fur image and the inverted feature information. Experimental results show that the algorithm improves the recognition accuracy by 9.08% on Fur_Recognition dataset and 6.41% on CIFAR-10 dataset. The algorithm in this paper can change the current situation that fur recognition relies on manual visual method to classify, and can lay foundation for improving the efficiency of fur production technology.

Musclesoftheelbowjoint of the Bastard Fox

Pathologies of the thoracic limb are quite widespread among domestic and wild carnivores. The study of the features of the anatomical and topographic characteristics allows the most accurate and individual approach to the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of the musculoskeletal system. The common fox is currently widespread not only in fur farms and fur farms, but also as a companion animal. In this regard, in the past few years, many breeds of this species have appeared which to this day have not received sufficient attention from veterinary specialists. The material for the study was five corpses of the common Bastard fox breed, aged from two to four years, obtained during forced euthanasia from internal non-communicable diseases from private farms and clinics in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region. The study was conducted at the Department of Animal Anatomy, St. Petersburg State University of Veterinary Medicine. During the study, methods such as fine anatomical preparation and weighing were used. Muscles in the elbow joint of the Bastarad Fox include the triceps brachii, ulna, tensor fasciae forearm, biceps brachii, brachialis, brachioradialis, pronators teres and quadrate, and arch support. The muscles of the elbow joint are divided into one- and two-articular, that is, those that act on only one joint and those that simultaneously act on two joints with their contraction. Also, the muscles of the elbow joint are divided according to their functions into extensors, flexors, pronators, supinators and tensors. In the course of the work, the anatomical and topographic features of the muscles of the shoulder girdle of the bastard fox breed, as well as their weight characteristics, were determined.

Palm oil use in the feedind of young minks

The aim of the research was to study the dry palm oil «Profat» effect on the young short-haired mink skins quality during the winter hair cover formation (OctoberNovember). The experiment was carried out on slaughter young animals in the Corporation «Saltykovsky fur farm» of the Moscow region. It was found that the introduction of a new vegetable fat source into the slaughter young animals diet in the amount of 0.75g per 100g of feed mixture provides an increase in the absolute and relative increase in live males weight of the experimental group by 80.4 g (2687.1 g vs. 2611.5 g in the control) and 3.1% (21.2% vs. 18.1% in the control), respectively. When assessing the internal organs condition of animals, no pathological changes in their development were detected. Based on the analysis of data on the size and quality of the slaughter young males skins, it was found that the inclusion of dry palm fat in the diet provides, in comparison with the control group, an increase in the skins area in the experimental group by 0.2 dm2 due to an increase in the proportion of skins of sizes 30 and > and 0-20 by 9.4% and a decrease in the proportion of smaller skins – 1 and 1+ by 9.4%, an increase in the size offset by 1.7%. The economic efficiency of using palm oil in the young mink diets during the formation of winter hair cover (OctoberNovember) amounted to 27.0 rubles per skin (in 2020 prices) at the drug cost 0.21 rubles.

A potential threat to the Pampas Biome: the introduction of American mink, Neovison vison (Schreber, 1777) in Uruguay

ABSTRACT The American mink (Neovison vison) has been introduced for fur farming into several countries around the world. In southern South America, although invasive populations have established in Argentina and Chile, no feral minks have been recorded in the Pampas Biome to date. We report a potentially new biological invasion in Uruguay, presenting observations, pictures and a museum specimen of feral minks in the locality Melilla, Montevideo Department, which probably escaped or were released from a local fur farm. We obtained 35 mink records between 2010 and 2020, mostly close to the fur farm, within a 2.5 km radius. Our report provides the northernmost mink records in South America, being the first in the Pampas Biome. American mink is a feared invader in most of the sites where it has been introduced, and therefore these new records are important mainly to plan and apply management interventions.

Diagnosis of the aleutian mink disease using the molecular genetic method

Today, fur farming continues to incur huge losses because of the Aleutian mink disease. Frequently, the pathogen enters the territory of farms together with newly imported mink livestock, which is why the applied immunoelectroosmophoresis reaction has low efficiency if the antibodies have not yet reached a certain level. So for this reason, the problem of accurate and early diagnosis of viral plasmocytosis in newly imported quarantine livestock becomes urgent. The study was carried out using PCR diagnostics of fecal samples from a newly imported population of minks of 30-day age in the fur farm of the North-Western region. Before taking fecal samples, all animals were examined by clinical methods. PCR diagnostics was performed using a set of reagents «Test system "ABN"» according to the manufacturer's instructions. According to the results of the experiment, it was found that out of 40 selected animals without clinical signs of the disease, 29 managed to detect the DNA of the causative agent of viral plasmocytosis. Thus, the use of PCR diagnostics as a method of identifying the Aleutian mink disease virus for newly imported livestock will prevent the development and spread of the disease already at its early stages.

Economic and Social Importance of the Breeding of Fur Animals in Greece and its Development Strategies

Background: In the present work, a thorough research and study was carried out to determine the conditions prevailing in the creation and operation of fur farms in Greece, which are bred exclusively in the region of Western Macedonia in the northwestern part of Greece. In particular, all the parameters that affect the efficiency of breeding units were analyzed, the appropriate answers to the problems and weaknesses of the breeding of fur-bearing animals were evaluated and given. Methods: The paper mainly deals with the applied practices and the situation prevailing in the field, from a technical, social and economic point of view and explored the development perspectives through proposed strategies, which are based on findings, literature, theoretical analyzes, statistical analyzes and primary sources from direct personal contacts. For the analysis of data of the fur industry, PESTLE and SWOT method of analyses applied. Result: The general conclusion that emerges from the whole effort is a dynamic development of the fur-bearing sector since everything points in this direction and this development will significantly contribute to the improvement of the living standard of the inhabitants of the area.

Are fur farms a potential source of persistent organic pollutants or mercury to nearby freshwater ecosystems?

Farming of carnivorous animals for pelts potentially contaminates nearby ecosystems because animal feed and waste may contain persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and metals. Mink farms in Nova Scotia (NS), Canada, provide mink with feed partially composed of marine fish meal. To test whether mink farms potentially contribute contaminants to nearby lakes, we quantified organochlorine pesticides (OCP), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), and total mercury (THg) in mink/aquaculture feed, waste, and sediment collected from 14 lakes within rural southwest NS where mink farms are abundant and have operated for decades. Mercury, PCBs, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH), and dieldrin were present in mink/aquaculture feed and mink waste, indicating they are potential contaminant sources. Lakes with mink farms in their catchment exhibited significantly higher THgflux than lakes downstream of mink farming activity and reference lakes (p < 0.0001) after the intensification of mink farming in 1980, indicating mink farming activity is likely associated with increased lacustrine THgflux. Sedimentary ƩPCBflux was elevated in lakes with mink farms in their catchments, suggesting possible PCB contributions from mink farming, local agriculture, and atmospheric deposition. Elevated ƩDDT in lakes near mink farms relative to reference lakes suggests a possible enrichment related to mink farming, although mixed land use and historical DDT usage related to forestry in the region complicates DDT source attribution. Maximum dieldrinflux and HCHflux in lake sediment occurred coeval with peak worldwide usage in the 1970s and are unlikely to be associated with local mink farming. Lakes with mink farming activities in their catchments were associated with increased THgflux, ƩPCBflux, and possibly ƩDDTflux, suggesting a possible connection between marine fish meal, fur farms, and aquatic ecosystems in NS.

Biopolymer Production from Organic Wastes

Presents a possibility of reducing the technological cycle of biopolymer production from organic wastes of leather and fur industries by 2.2 times vs. known methods by optimizing raw material pre-preparation for dissolution. The accelerated method of biopolymer production makes possible its physical and chemical properties preservation, increase its clean content increase, as well as reduce wastewater pollution by sodium hydroxide and sulfide, water consumption, wastewater disposal, materials and electricity consumption for its production.

Changes in the structure of animal husbandry in Russia from 2011 to 2020

Purpose: analysis of changes in the structure of fur farming industries by the number of fur farms with different numbers of livestock for the period from 2011 to 2020.Depending on the size of the livestock, farms are grouped into several groups: small, medium, large, large and very large. Given the prevalence of certain types of fur-bearing animals on farms, 5 groups were identified for mink, 4 for foxes, and 3 groups for arctic fox and sable.For the period from 2011 to 2019 in the fur farms of the Russian Federation, there is a constant decrease in the number of minks (by 7.1%), arctic foxes (by 38.1%) and foxes (by 40.6%). During these years, the number of sables increased by 91.0%. Over a 9-year period, 12 mink farms, 5 fox and 6 arctic fox farms were liquidated. 6 new mink farms were formed, 2 fox, 4 fox and 4 sable. Despite the unfavorable state in fur farming, by 2019, in eight mink breeding farms, the breeding stock increased from 990 (Vyatka) to 27,501 (Furs) females of the main herd. A trend of enlargement of mink farms was noted. There is a decrease in the number of breeding stock on fox and arctic fox farms. In fox farming, after 9 years, 5 farms remained in the “large” and “large” groups (in 2011 there were 9), in fox farming, 3 farms remained in the “medium” and “large” groups (in 2011 there were 8). In sable breeding, an increase in livestock on 9 farms was recorded from 490 (“Russian sable”) to 5435 (“Magistralny”) females. In 2019, of all fur farms, only one belongs to the “small” group. For 9 years, the breed composition of certain types of fur-bearing animals has changed. The mink gene pool has decreased by three colors, the share of the brown group is decreasing, the share of color groups is increasing. In foxes, the share of the silver-black breed increased by 3.6%. In sable breeding, the share of the black sable breed increased by 1.8%.