40% of laying hens in the U.S. are no longer confined to tiny wire cages. Over the last 10 years, thanks to groups such as The Humane League, there has been tremendous progress in ending the use of battery cages, gestation crates and other forms of extreme confinement on farms (of course, “cage-free” does not equal cruelty-free!).
In comparison, 100% of farmed mink and foxes are confined in small, barren cages. Surprisingly, when fur farming began in the U.S. in the early 1900s, housing featured large outdoor pens, and mink were provided with water pans for swimming. Conditions quickly got worse as fur farming became industrialized and intensive.
(Images: pages from Fur Farming, a guide originally published in 1909.)