– Nice boy! Good trip, says Jon Sørdal and lifts a white mink into the cage in which it will be transported.
It is his last day at work as a fur farmer, and the mink he carries is among Norway’s very last of its kind.
Tomorrow, there won’t be a single farming operation left in the country.
– It is a strange day, and it is a wistful and sad day. Fur animals have meant a lot to me, says the farmer.
In 2019, the Storting decided to wind down the fur industry. Sørby believes that fur farming has been important for District Norway in terms of both value creation and jobs.
– Preferably in places that haven’t had much other commercial activity, fur animals have been an important industry for many, says the 70-year-old.
SHIPPING PROCEDURE: In the small blue cages, the mink is to be sent from Brumunddal to North Jutland in Denmark. Photo: Harald Christian Eiken / TV 2
Sørby is retired, and has enjoyed having something to hang his fingers on. Friday marked the end of over 100 years of fur farming.
– It is wistful and sad that it has ended, because now it is over. There are no more fur animals left in Norway when this day is over, says Sørby.
Both his father, uncle, brother and nephew have engaged in fur breeding. Sørby himself sold his first skins in 1972. The farmer reminisces about when his father ran the farm, and calls the 60s the glory days of the fur industry.
– Then we were big. We were a significant export industry and had a good development until the political challenges that have come in the last 15-20 years, he says.
– What do you think about the fact that you are the last breeder in Norway?
AMONG THE LAST: The finish line has been set for fur farming in Norway, while neighboring Denmark is starting up again. Photo: Harald Christian Eiken / TV 2
– No, I don’t go around saying I’m proud of it, but for me personally it has been very good to continue after the closure decision, says Sørby.
Norway’s last, Denmark’s first
The animals go to North Jutland in Denmark, where a female buyer has bought the 765 minks, says Sørdal. The Danes have been without fur farming since the corona pandemic, when millions of mink were killed and farming was banned.
Now Denmark gets its first mink after lifting the ban, from Brummunddal.
– These are the last animals to leave Norwegian soil and the first animals to enter Denmark, says Sørby.
He says the Danish buyers are very satisfied, and he has faith that his animals will be treated well in the neighboring country.
– It is a consolation that they are coming to a new good home in Denmark, says Norway’s last fur farmer.
TOMT: The mink is heading south. Now Jon Sørby’s mink farm is to be destroyed. Photo: Harald Christian Eiken / TV 2
Awaiting compensation
– This was the last mink production we had here in Norway, and now the group here will be Danish from tomorrow, says Guri Wormedahl, communications manager at the Norwegian Fur Association.
She thinks it is painful that a final point has been reached for the industry.
– At the same time, it’s nice to know what these animals can contribute to continuing production in our neighboring country.
Now there is only one thing left, according to Wormedahl.
– We are now waiting for the Norwegian Directorate of Agriculture and the Norwegian Agricultural Assessment to hopefully get started again with valuations, so that these compensations are paid and the finish line that people need is set, she says.
