(01/11/2000) “Only good animal welfare is acceptable for fur farmed animals”

The British Fur Trade Association [1] said today: "Only good animal welfare is acceptable for fur farmed animals and this should be the basis of all animal husbandry legislation."

The Government bill [2] to ban fur farming on ‘public morality’ grounds is itself morally questionable, since it will take away the livelihood of fur farmers and their families, who in the best traditions of farming generally, have raised and cared for their domesticated fur animals through generations.

It is also morally questionable for the Government to restrict freedom of choice in farming animals [3] when there is good animal welfare. Public opinion agrees with this view. In a recent poll [4] 81% of British people agreed that animals may be farmed for any purpose, providing there is good animal welfare. The BFTA believes that "it is a farmer’s democratic right – as it is within the rest of Europe – to farm animals for whatever purpose he or she may choose, providing there is good animal welfare".

The British Fur Trade Association adds: "The Government ban on fur farming will have no effect on worldwide production since less than 0.01% of the world’s farmed fur is produced on farms in England and Wales."

"However there are significant international implications if such a draconian and morally questionable step is taken as 85% of the world’s fur is produced on farms" [5] – the majority on more than 6,000 farms within the European Union.

"It is unjust if Britain goes out on a limb to ban fur farming based only on emotion whilst ignoring sound, internationally agreed scientific animal welfare parameters."

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Issued by the British Fur Trade Association.
Press contact: Andrea Martin
e-mail press@britishfur.co.uk

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Notes to editors:

Members of the British Fur Trade Association (BFTA) are responsible for the majority of world trade in farmed fur.
The Fur Farming (Prohibition) Bill is expected to be debated in the House of Lords on 6 November 2000.
British fur farmers are represented by the National Farmers Union and the European Fur Farmers Association. In the UK fur farming is a well-regulated sector of agriculture governed by EU Directives, national laws, and the Council of Europe Recommendation concerning fur animals, which was adopted in June 1999. Other EU countries have national legislation covering the existence and operation of fur farms and all operate under EU animal welfare directives including EU Council Directive 98/58/EC of 20 July 1998 on the protection of farmed animals which specifically includes fur animals along with pigs, cows and sheep for example.
International market research company, Taylor Nelson Sofres plc carried out UK national opinion research which was commissioned by the British Fur Trade Association. The research was carried out on 23 February - 27 February 2000 and the results are based on all 995 interviews with adults 16+. Question: In principle, I find it acceptable that animals are kept on farms for any purpose, provided there is good animal welfare. Agree 81%, Disagree 7%, DK 2%.
Farmed fur is the staple of the fur sector contributing more than 85% by value to total world trade in fur – 70% of which is produced within the European Union.