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THE ASTORIAN • THuRSdAy, FEbRuARy 17, 2022
OPINION
editor@dailyastorian.com
KARI BORGEN
Publisher
DERRICK DePLEDGE
Editor
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Production Manager
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Systems Manager
GUEST COLUMN
Why I oppose
mink farming
B
orn and raised on a small farm
ing their bodies out when the timer rang
a full seven minutes later.
in Twin Falls, Idaho, I’m prob-
ably the last person you would
My grandfather expressed sincere
expect to be working to end mink farm-
affection for his mink and did all he
ing in the U.S.
could to provide them with the best life
My grandfather, a kind, generous
possible. But it was clear to me, a kid
man, raised mink in Idaho for the first
who took to heart the idea of proper
two decades of my life. Some of the top
animal husbandry, that mink farming
mink producers in Utah share my last
was nothing like other forms of animal
name, and we are likely descended from
agriculture.
the same family of Mormon pioneers
Unlike the easy, bucolic lifestyle of
who settled in Utah.
our cattle and horses, who spent their
When I wasn’t dealing with the mink,
days grazing and relaxing on spacious,
I spent the better part of my days feed-
open pastures — and who are domes-
ticated animals — I witnessed a wild
ing and tending our cattle and horses,
species farmed in miserable
fixing fences, irrigating pasture
conditions.
and stacking hay. I raised rabbits
What I remember above all
and showed them and my two
else was the extreme aggression
pet goats in 4-H at the local fair.
exhibited by the mink. I learned
In high school, I studied agricul-
ture and joined Future Farmers
as a very young boy not to put
of America, where I showed beef
bare hands too close to the cages,
steers and dairy heifers and com-
because if the mink were able to
SCOTT
peted on the FFA meat, dairy and
get a finger in their teeth through
BECKSTEAD
livestock judging teams.
the wire mesh, they’d bite and
I talked about the principles of
not let go. When they escaped,
responsible animal husbandry with the
they’d give chase to anyone trying to
best of them.
catch them. My routine included col-
lecting mink killed and cannibalized by
With an upbringing steeped in ani-
mal agriculture, it’s fair to ask how I can
pen mates and tending to the ones with
now be asking Congress to shut down
bloody, open wounds caused by fights.
the mink farm and to turn the page on
We were forbidden to go into the
an industry that’s been around for more
mink yard when the mothers were giv-
ing birth, because the slightest distur-
than a century.
bance would cause them to kill and can-
In large part it’s due to what I
nibalize their young. You just don’t see
observed and participated in as a child
that kind of bloody horror in other forms
on those operations. I spent most
of animal agriculture. It violates every-
Thanksgivings as a child and youth on
thing we say in agriculture about proper
my grandfather’s mink farm to help with
husbandry.
the pelting of thousands of mink; I spent
As an adult, I have supported
most of that time killing the animals —
humane, sustainable animal production
setting a baking timer when mink were
methods. As a professor of law, I teach a
stuffed into tiny gas chambers, then pull-
A mink looks out from a pen on a farm in Denmark in 2020.
class in animal agriculture law and dis-
cuss aligning the values of animal agri-
culture with those of consumers. But it
was clear to me as I grew into a man that
a wild, solitary, hyperaggressive species
like mink should not be raised by the
thousands in cramped, barren cages.
So why act now to end mink farms?
In large part because we have learned
that unlike other animal species, farmed
mink have the ability to catch COVID-
19 from humans, then transmit variant
forms of the virus back to their human
caretakers. This led to other nations,
including Denmark, the world’s top
mink producing nation, to bring mink
farming to a quick and unceremonious
end.
My grandpa did the best he could
to tend to the mink, but no amount of
good animal husbandry can stop vio-
lent and endless agitation and aggression
on mink farms. That’s why it’s time for
Congress to complete its work and phase
out mink farming and bring an end to
the animal suffering and risk of conta-
gion they present.
Americans don’t need or want mink
coats any longer, and the pelts being
produced in the U.S. are sold to wealthy
Chinese elites. Why would we allow
China to import these products and out-
source the animal cruelty and the viral
risks built into the heart of this industry?
We shouldn’t, and that’s why the end
of mink farming in the U.S. can’t come
soon enough.
Scott beckstead, of Sutherlin, is direc-
tor of campaigns for the Center for a
Humane Economy.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Wrong place
I
don’t believe there is a single res-
ident in Astoria who is not d
istressed over the plight of homeless peo-
ple living on our streets, and we are look-
ing to our city leaders to find solutions.
The proposed four-story building at the
corner of 11th and Exchange streets is a
huge investment in the wrong place. The
only people who will benefit from this
multimillion-dollar project are the archi-
tect and developers from Portland.
The citizens of this town have always
wanted a plaza to celebrate Astoria’s his-
toric significance, and to honor all the
pioneers who saw a great future for our
region, hence Heritage Square.
Don’t change development codes that
will rob us of the opportunity to some day
have a city square that will be the pride of
all. I have heard the excuse that this town
cannot afford a plaza, but remember that
this audacious little town has rebounded
from devastating fires that destroyed the
entire business district twice.
One other thing to ponder is that in
1951, our myopic city planners were ready
to tear down the Flavel mansion to make
room for a parking lot. Thank goodness,
concerned citizens came to the rescue of
this irreplaceable landmark.
Listen to your citizens, and keep the
option open for future Astoria residents
to celebrate its glorious past with a down-
town plaza. Keep Heritage Square.
LARRY ALLEN
Astoria
Unmistakable cruelty
or 25 years, I was the elected prosecu-
tor in the Clatsop County. I prosecuted
many cases of animal cruelty, and I know
it when I see it. Unfortunately, mink farm-
ing still exists in a few Oregon counties,
including Clatsop.
Mink farms constitute unmistakable
cruelty, and our county was long one of
the two main counties in the state with
these awful production facilities (“House
bill would ban mink farming,” The Asto-
rian, Feb. 12). Mink are wild, solitary ani-
mals, and on mink farms, they are put in
cages where the animals routinely fight.
Cannibalism has been widely documented
on them.
There is no domestic market for mink
pelts. It’s purely an export market, mainly
to China. That it’s all done to send lux-
ury garments for rich Chinese to go to
state-sponsored dinners compounds the
moral problems associated with them.
The case is clinched when one under-
stands that mink are uniquely susceptible
F
LETTERS WELCOME
Letters should be exclusive to The
Astorian. Letters should be fewer
than 250 words and must include the
writer’s name, address and phone
number. You will be contacted to
confirm authorship. All letters are
subject to editing for space, gram-
mar and factual accuracy. Only two
letters per writer are allowed each
month. Letters written in response
to COVID-19. They have contracted it by
the millions on fur farms in North Amer-
ica and Europe, and they spill it back to
people. That’s a risk not worth the piti-
fully small economic activity associated
with mink farms.
The U.S. House of Representatives has
passed an amendment to ban fur farms.
The Senate is not on the record yet, but
it would be wise to align itself with the
House.
JOSHUA MARQUIS
Director of Legal Affairs,
Animal Welfare Action
Astoria
to other letter writers should address
the issue at hand and should refer to
the headline and date the letter was
published. Discourse should be civil.
Send via email to editor@dailyasto-
rian.com, online at bit.ly/astorianlet-
ters, in person at 949 Exchange St.
in Astoria or mail to Letters to the
Editor, P.O. Box 210, Astoria, OR.,
97103.
One and only location
I
t is clear the Astoria City Council is
intent on shifting the focus of Her-
itage Square from what started out to
be a public gathering space to instead
become affordable housing, along with
a significant live-in facility for Clat-
sop Behavioral Healthcare. There will
be no “square” at all, but rather it will
be developed with entirely different
priorities.
It is abundantly clear that our fair city
is in dire need of affordable housing. It
is equally clear that Clatsop Behavioral
Healthcare is in dire need of a housing
facility to accommodate our communi-
ty’s mental health care needs. I fully sup-
port those needs being aggressively and
effectively addressed.
What is not at all clear is why these
needs must be accommodated at the one
and only location where it is feasible to
locate a public square. The city, after
acquiring the former Safeway block,
undertook a comprehensive public out-
reach process to develop a plan based on
copious input from a very engaged com-
munity. After all, we are the oldest town
west of the Rocky Mountains, and we
still do not have a public gathering place,
a central, open, people-friendly space in
our beloved downtown.
We are now looking at something
completely unrecognizable from the
original intent for Heritage Square — a
concept that was met with great enthusi-
asm by the public.
We are sacrificing an opportunity for a
public square downtown simply because
the funding mechanisms that have been
seized upon are aligned to support afford-
able housing and mental health care.
Is this really the best we can do?
ED OVERBAY
Astoria