Animal rights activists are overjoyed at the news that all fox and mink farms in Norway will be closed in 2018. This action has been hailed as “a fantastic victory” for the movement to protect animal rights in Europe. Norway will become the 14th country in Europe to implement such a ban, but the first in the Nordic region which has always been a major source of animal fur. While the plans to completely phase out the farms will take some time, there’s already been a massive decrease in recent years. Norway's economy used to rely heavily on the fur industry, and at one point there were around 20,000 farms. However, there are only about 200 still in operation - and their days are numbered.