Did you know that the first and only Midwestern city to ban the sale of fur is in Michigan?

The Michigan fur trade has a long history dating back to the late 1700s.  In fact, to this day Michigan is the 6th largest state in regards to fur sales according to a report from the Detroit Free Press,

Michigan ranks sixth in retail fur sales, with about $20 million or 3.5% of all fur sales nationwide, according to the Humane Society. Michigan produced 65,000 mink pelts in 2019, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

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The Ann Arbor ban on fur sales is fairly recent.  The city council voted 10-0 to ban the sale of fur in Ann Arbor city limits on August 16th, 2021.  Council Member Jeff Hayner, D-1st Ward, lead sponsor of the proposal had this to say in the Ann Arbor city council meeting according to MLive,

This is yesterday’s business.  Furriers need to go the way of the buggy-whip makers, you might say.  And they will and they are, and the world will be better for it.

There are other cities that have banned the sale of fur peppered throughout the United States.  Meanwhile, the entire state of California has banned the sale of fur and a handful of other states are following suit according to the Humane Society of the United States.

The Ann Arbor ban was likely connected to the Covid outbreak at a mink farm in Michigan.  More than 20 million minks were reportedly killed in 2020 due to COVID-19 outbreaks at mink farms around the United States, Europe, and Canada.

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