The word mink entered English from Scandinavian sources — most likely Swedish menk or Danish mink — in the 15th century. The further etymology is uncertain; some scholars have suggested a connection to Scandinavian words for thin or small, but no convincing derivation has been established.
The mink belongs to the family Mustelidae, which includes weasels, otters, ferrets, and wolverines. Two species bear the name: the European mink (Mustela lutreola) and the American mink (Neovison vison). Despite their similar names and appearances, these species are not closely related within the mustelid family — a case of convergent evolution producing similar body plans for similar ecological niches.
The mink's fur — dense, soft, and naturally water-resistant — made it one of the most valued pelts in the fur trade. Each mink has approximately 20,000 hairs per square centimeter, creating an insulating layer that keeps the animal warm in frigid water. This density and softness made mink fur a luxury textile, and by the early 20th century, a mink coat had become the definitive symbol of wealth and glamour.
The commercialization of mink fur led to the development of mink farming, beginning in the late 19th century. By the mid-20th century, the majority of mink pelts came from farms rather than wild trapping. Denmark became the world's largest mink producer, with Finnish and North American farms also significant.
The industry faced an unprecedented crisis in 2020 when SARS-CoV-2 was found to spread rapidly among farmed mink, with evidence that the virus could mutate within mink populations and spread back to humans. Denmark ordered the culling of its entire farmed mink population — approximately 17 million animals — in one of the most dramatic disease-control decisions in modern history. The decision effectively destroyed the Danish mink industry overnight.
Meanwhile, the European mink has become one of the most endangered mammals in Europe, critically threatened by habitat loss and competition from the introduced American mink. Conservation programs in Spain, France, and Estonia are attempting to save the species, but its future remains uncertain. The American mink, released or escaped from fur farms across Europe, has proven devastatingly effective as an invasive predator, threatening native wildlife from Scotland to Siberia.