Europe is one of the world’s largest fur producers. Poland is currently the largest mink farmer, having produced 4.5 million pelts in 2021. Lithuania, Greece, Finland and Spain make up the rest of the top five.
ANGELA SYMONS: Rumors swirled earlier this week that the UK government could back out of its promise to ban the import of fur. The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has since corrected these reports, saying future legislation to ban the imports of fur and foie gras has not been dropped, but faces a lack of progress due to limited Parliamentary time.
The UK has historically been a leader on animal rights, becoming the first European country to ban fur farming on ethical grounds back in 2003. But the country imported around £55 million (€62m) worth of fur in 2019, according to UK charity coalition Wildlife and Countryside Link…
There is strong public backing for a UK fur sales ban, with over 1.1 million signatures collected to date, according to DEFRA, while an April 2022 poll shows 77 per cent of British voters think the UK Government should ban the importation of animal products such as fur.
In the European Union, fur is also falling in popularity. The value of fur imports in the EU dropped more than 60 per cent over the past decade, animal welfare organisation Four Paws asserts. So how does the UK stack up against other European countries when it comes to the import and export of fur?…
Europe is one of the world’s largest fur producers, though the industry has been in decline since 2014. In Europe, annual mink production decreased from 45 million in 2014 to approximately 12 million in 2021, reports Brussels-based animal protection lobbyist Eurogroup for Animals. Finland and Poland are the EU countries with the highest number of fur farms.
The biggest fur producing and importing country in Europe is Finland, though a significant proportion of its imports are re-exported to countries such as South Korea and Vietnam. According to animal protection charity Humane Society International (HSI), the country’s export value of fur was €126 million in 2021, down from €477 million in 2013.
Finland is the largest producer of foxes (mainly ‘blue’ foxes) and raccoon dogs, with a production of 900,000 fox fur pelts in 2021, down from 2.53 million in 2017, Finnish Fur Breeders’ Association (FIFUR) figures show.
Poland is currently the largest mink farmer, having produced 4.5 million pelts in 2021. Lithuania, Greece, Finland and Spain make up the rest of the top five, after COVID-19 outbreaks on farms forced Danish farmers to cull their animal stock.
In December, Denmark announced plans to lift its temporary ban on mink farming and import 10,000 mink from Finland, Iceland, Poland, Norway and Spain to start a new breeding programme for fur farms this year. EU exports of farmed fur to third countries are mainly destined for Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Russia, South Korea and Thailand. Turkey is also a major consumer of fur.
Which European countries have banned fur farming? Fur farming has been banned in 19 European countries, 14 of which are EU member states. These include Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Italy, Ireland, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, and the UK. SOURCE…
RELATED VIDEO: