LONDON—Pressure is increasing on the UK Government to ban the import and sale of cruel fur as a leading EU science body, the European Food Safety Authority, concluded in its official scientific opinion published today that fur farming across the European Union fails to meet basic animal welfare needs for mink, foxes, raccoon dogs and chinchillas.
In response, leading animal charity Humane World for Animals (formerly Humane Society International) is urging the UK Government to close its borders to fur imports and support a legislative bill by Ruth Jones MP currently going through Parliament. The charity has also written to the European Commission calling for it to urgently bring forward an EU-wide ban on fur farming.
There is huge public support for an end to the fur trade. In 2023 more than 1.5 million EU citizens signed the Fur Free Europe European Citizens’ Initiative petition for an EU ban on fur farming and trade and in the UK campaigners recently handed-in a 1.5 million signature #FurFreeBritain petition calling for a UK fur import and sales ban. The Commission committed to assess potential legislative action, including taking into account EFSA’s conclusions, following the ECI petition and is expected to communicate an update on this by March 2026.
Claire Bass, senior director of campaigns and public affairs at Humane World for Animals UK, said: “EFSA’s report could not be more clear: subjecting sentient animals to the physical and mental suffering they endure on fur farms is inhumane. For as long as the UK continues to allow fur to be imported and sold in our shops, we remain complicit in this hideously cruel industry. It is time for the UK government to support Ruth Jones’ bill and ban fur imports and sales in Britain. It’s clear that the public in both Britain and the EU are united in rejecting the appalling animal welfare standards inherent to the fur trade. The UK Government and European Commission both have enormous mandates to end the cruel and dangerous fur trade, it’s really just a question of who delivers first.”
More than six million animals are kept on almost 1,200 fur farms across the European Union in countries such as Finland, Poland, Denmark, Spain and Greece. Fur farming is already banned in 22 European countries, including 16 Member States, most recently Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Romania and although there is no official ban in Sweden or Bulgaria, there are no more active fur farms there. The UK was the first country in the world to ban fur farming more than two decades ago on animal cruelty grounds. However, Britain continues to import millions of pounds worth of fur from overseas. HMRC records show UK imports of around £30-£40 million of fur each year from countries including Finland, Poland, Greece and China. Humane World for Animals estimates this equates to around one million animals being killed to be imported into the UK annually.
Among key animal welfare problems in current fur farm systems, the report lists:
- Cages of insufficient size and complexity with “barren conditions” which “severely restrict movement” in addition to inappropriate wire-based flooring.
- Sensory understimulation and overstimulation, for different species, leading to chronic boredom and/or stress.
- Inability to exhibit key behaviours including playing, exploring, foraging, digging, jumping or chewing and, for chinchillas, access to sand for bathing, and, for mink, access to open water for swimming.
- Stress, aggression and injury, including infanticide and cannibalism, caused by lack of space and/or overcrowding and/or inappropriate group housing (e.g. fighting with cage mates and fur chewing behaviours) and/or competition for resources.
- Fear and stress from lack of habituation to humans and injuries caused by catching animals with neck tongs, including during forced insemination.
- Stereotypical behaviours such as repetitive pacing and head bobbing.
- Lameness and bowed legs / leg weakness.
- Gut disorders and inappropriate diet; prolonged hunger and overfeeding in different scenarios.
A Private Member’s Bill introduced by Ruth Jones, Labour MP for Newport West and Islwyn is scheduled for its Second Reading in Parliament in autumn 2025. The bill proposes to extend existing bans on trade in fur from cats, dogs and seals to also prevent the import and sale of new fur from foxes, raccoon dogs, mink, chinchilla, coyotes and other animals. Recent polling shows that 77% of the British public support a ban on the import of fur.
Dr Joanna Swabe, senior director of public affairs at Humane World for Animals Europe, said: “EFSA’s opinion confirms what animal advocates and veterinarians have been saying for decades: farming animals such as mink, foxes, raccoon dogs and chinchillas for fur fashion in small barren cages, unsurprisingly causes serious chronic animal welfare problems including suppression of key vital behaviours, stress, injuries and health disorders. The significant physical and psychological suffering described in detail by the multi-national EFSA panel is totally incompatible with modern ethical animal welfare standards. Throughout the report, the experts conclude that the suffering ‘cannot be prevented or substantially mitigated’ in current fur farming systems. This is a damning indictment that leaves the fur trade with no viable future.”
Fur facts
- Fur farming poses a zoonotic disease risk. Mink on almost 500 fur farms across 13 countries in Europe and North America have been found to be infected with COVID-19, with millions of animals killed on public health grounds. Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A (H5N1) has also been found on 72 fur farms in Europe to date. Around 500,000 mink, arctic fox, red fox, raccoon dogs and sable were killed on public health grounds.
- Research shows that the carbon footprint of 1kg of mink fur (309.91 kg CO2-eq) is 31 times higher than cotton, 26 times higher than acrylic, and 25 times higher than polyester. Raccoon dog fur and fox fur also have high carbon footprints, approximately 23 times worse for the climate than cotton, and 18 times worse for the climate than polyester. Compared to other environmentally harmful forms of animal agriculture, the farming of carnivorous animals is worse. The production of 1 kilogram of mink fur releases approximately seven times higher emissions than producing 1 kilogram of beef.
- Most leading designers have fur-free policies including Max Mara, Saint Laurent, Gucci, Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, Valentino, Prada, Armani, Versace, Michael Kors, Jimmy Choo, DKNY, Burberry and Chanel. Over 1,600 fashion brands and retailers worldwide have committed to being fur-free and as fur becomes increasingly unmarketable and ethically indefensible, fashion houses are choosing to innovate with sustainable, cruelty-free alternatives.
Download photos and video of fur farms in Europe here: https://pressportal.humaneworld.org/dam/search?q=expr%3AFieldName(%22AssociatedAssets%22).Link.Record.Id%20%3D%20%221a2a9da7-dd87-4ce3-8673-b2330118dba5%22
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