HR 2185
Mink VIRUS Act
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- Passed House
- Passed Senate
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Bill overview
The Mink VIRUS Act prohibits the farming of mink for their fur, starting one year after enactment, and establishes a program to compensate fur farm owners as they transition out of the industry. The bill mandates humane euthanasia methods for mink termination and includes penalties for non-compliance. It also requires fur farm owners to provide a permanent easement prohibiting future fur farming on their property and establishes a USDA payment program to cover compliance costs and market value loss.
Key provisions
- Prohibits the farming of mink for fur starting one year after enactment.
- Establishes a compensation program for fur farm owners to cover compliance costs and market value loss.
- Requires humane mink termination methods, adhering to USDA and AVMA guidelines.
- Imposes civil penalties for violating the prohibition or termination requirements.
- Mandates fur farm owners provide a permanent easement prohibiting future fur farming.
- Requires USDA to establish and administer the compensation program.
- Sets a timeline for USDA to establish the payment program (180 days).
- Specifies the effective date for market value determination (day before enactment).
Who is affected
- Fur farm owners
- American mink farmers
- European mink farmers
- USDA
- American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA)
Notable changes
- Eliminates mink farming entirely.
Sponsors
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Primary sponsor
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119th CONGRESS — 1st Session
H. R. 2185
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
A BILL
To protect public health and human safety by prohibiting the farming of mink for their fur, to compensate farmers as they transition out of the industry, and for other purposes.
This Act may be cited as the Mink: Vectors for Infection Risk in the United States Act Mink VIRUS Act
or the
.
meets the definition of euthanasia
specified in section 1.1 of title 9, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations); and
acceptableby the most recent version of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Guidelines for the Euthanasia of Animals made publicly available at the time the termination occurred, without regard to whether the termination is in compliance with other guidelines, including the AVMA Guidelines for the Depopulation of Animals.
Any person who violates subsection (a) may be assessed a civil penalty of up to $10,000 for each day that the fur farm is not in compliance with the requirements of that subsection.
Any person who violates subsection (b) may be assessed a civil penalty of up to $10,000 for each mink terminated in a manner that does not comply with the requirements of that subsection.
This section shall not be construed to preempt or limit any requirement of any law or regulation of a State or political subdivision of a State that is more restrictive than the requirements of this section.
Secretary) shall establish and carry out a program (referred to in this section as the
Program) to provide payments to owners of fur farms whose operations involve the farming of mink.
Under the Program, the Secretary shall provide payments to fur farm owners equal to the sum of the Secretary’s determination of—
the reasonable cost incurred by the owner in order to comply with sections 2(a) and 2(b); and
the market value of the portion of the owner’s fur farm, exclusive of the land, involving mink farming.
The market value referred to in subsection (b)(2) shall be calculated as the amount in cash, or on terms reasonably equivalent to cash, for which in all probability the relevant portion of the fur farm would have sold on the effective date of the valuation, after a reasonable exposure time on the competitive market, from a willing and reasonably knowledgeable seller to a willing and reasonably knowledgeable buyer, with neither acting under any compulsion to buy or sell, giving due consideration to all available economic uses of that portion of the fur farm at the time of the valuation.
In determining the market value referred to in subsection (b)(2), the effective date of the valuation shall be the day before the date of enactment of this Act.
As a condition of receiving a payment under the Program, the recipient shall—
not use any payment funds for any materials, supplies, labor costs, or activities associated with operating a fur farm; and
provide to the Secretary a permanent easement on the property on which the fur farm is located that prohibits the operation of any fur farm on the easement area.
In this Act:
does not include cowhide with its hair attached, deerskin with its hair attached, and lambskin and sheepskin with their fleece attached.
The term fur-bearing animal means an animal that bears fur of marketable value.
The term fur farm means an operation that farms fur-bearing animals for the value of their fur, including—
the land, buildings, support facilities, and other equipment of the operation in which fur-bearing animals are, for the value of their fur, bred, slaughtered, skinned, or sold; and
the fur-bearing animals of the operation farmed for the value of their fur and any fur produced by such fur-bearing animals that is owned by the operation.
The term mink means an American mink (Neovison vison), a European mink (Mustela lutreola), and any mink hybrid, whether alive or dead, and any parts and products from such mink or mink hybrids.