This bill mandates the phase-out of mink farming, requires humane termination of existing mink populations, and establishes a federal payment program to compensate affected farm owners.
Adriano Espaillat
Representative
NY-13
The Mink VIRUS Act mandates the complete cessation of mink farming one year after enactment and establishes strict federal standards for the humane termination of any remaining mink. It creates a payment program administered by the USDA to compensate farm owners for compliance costs and asset value, contingent upon a permanent easement preventing future fur farming on the land. The Act also specifies penalties for non-compliance with termination rules and exempts its budgetary effects from standard PAYGO scorecards.
Mink VIRUS Act Mandates Industry Shutdown in 1 Year, Offers $100M Buyout with Permanent Land Restrictions
The aptly named Mink VIRUS Act is a comprehensive federal plan to completely shut down the mink farming industry in the U.S. within one year. It's not a slow phase-out; it’s a hard stop backed by serious financial penalties. The bill’s core purpose is to eliminate mink farming operations, which are viewed as a potential vector for infectious disease, and it provides a $100 million federal compensation package to make the transition happen.
The Clock Starts Now: One Year to Close Up Shop
This bill gives mink farmers exactly one year from the date of enactment to cease all operations (Sec. 2). After that deadline, any farm still raising mink faces a fine of up to $10,000 for every single day they remain open. It’s a massive financial hammer designed to ensure compliance. But the rules start even sooner: just 90 days after the bill passes, any farmer who needs to terminate mink—whether they’re exiting early or just culling their stock—must use extremely strict, humane euthanasia methods approved by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) guidelines (Sec. 2). If a farmer uses a method that doesn't meet these standards, the penalty is up to $10,000 per improperly terminated mink. This is a huge liability, especially if a farm attempts a large-scale depopulation.
The Buyout: $100 Million and a Permanent Catch
To soften the blow of this mandatory industry shutdown, the bill establishes a $100 million payment program run by the Department of Agriculture (Sec. 3). This money is meant to compensate farm owners for two things: the reasonable costs of complying with the new closure and termination rules, and the market value of their mink farming assets (like equipment and buildings, but not the land itself). The market value is calculated based on what the assets were worth the day before the law was enacted.
Here’s the catch—and it’s a big one for any farmer or landowner considering the payment. If you take the federal money, you must grant the Secretary of Agriculture a permanent easement on the specific area of your property where the farm operated (Sec. 3(c)). This easement legally blocks anyone from ever operating a fur farm on that land again. For a farm family, this means giving up a property right forever in exchange for the compensation. It’s a permanent land-use restriction tied directly to the bailout money.
The Fiscal Footnote That Matters to Taxpayers
While the $100 million is a significant expenditure, the bill includes a curious provision regarding how the government tracks its own spending. Section 5 states that the budgetary effects of this entire Act—including the $100 million payout—will not be counted on the standard federal “PAYGO scorecards.” These scorecards are the government’s primary way of tracking whether new laws add to the national debt or deficit. By exempting this bill, the cost is essentially shielded from the usual scrutiny and reporting mechanisms designed to keep track of federal spending. For taxpayers, this means a $100 million expenditure is being made outside the normal budget transparency rules.