Purchase

If you want to get hold of a mink, you are dependant on thegoodwill of a mink breeder. There are private owners with mink but these areusually sterilized because they are not used for breeding. We approached 10 –15 breeders before we found one who was prepared to sell us a mink. Thebreeders we approached were very cautious and suspicious when we said that wewanted a mink. We were told that a minkwas not a pet and could not be tamed. The reason we got an animal at all isthat we already had a raccoon and a skunk and so probably knew what we weredoing.

Later, once we got to know the people at the farm, itappeared that they had had a lot of bad experiences when they sold their mink.People often wanted to return the animals because they weren’t suitable as petsafter all or they just let the animals out into the wild. They had also seenphotos of their mink and they did not look well, and had very dirty cages.These photos were in all of the anti-fur pamphlets. Another reason theymistrusted these people is that they constantly had to defend their professionand they think that everyone is against them.

Once you have found a breeder who is willing to sell you amink, you should make sure that you get a young one, between 4 –5  weeks old. I got one for a friend of minethat was 6.5 weeks old and it was very shy and used to blow when you went nearit. The animal never really became tame. It does not matter what sex you buy,even though there are some that say that the male is more gentle and quiet. Amale is also bigger and more impressive than a female. If you do not haveenough time to spend with the animal yourself, you should make sure that youbuy two. You should buy them at the same time because you cannot put themtogether when they are older. It does not matter if you take two males, twofemales or one of each.