EU a step closer to fur farming ban after damning agency report

Euractiv

4 days ago

The EU's food safety watchdog has found virtually no way to improve the current farm system for minks, foxes, raccoons and chinchillas, clearing the path for the Commission to propose EU-wide restrictions. In a report out Wednesday, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) says that the current cage system makes it very hard to satisfy the animals' physical and behavioural needs. 'Neither prevention nor substantial mitigation of the identified [welfare conditions] is possible in the current system,' it reads.
Farmed species include the American mink, red and Arctic foxes, raccoon dogs and chinchillas.
Back in 2022, 1.5 million citizens called on Brussels to ban fur farming under the initiative 'Fur Free Europe'. The European Commission then tasked EFSA with assessing the welfare conditions at fur farms, which prompted this week's report.
The practice of fur farming is already declining across Europe and has been banned in over half of EU countries. However, the industry is still operating in countries including Finland and Poland.
The Commission will follow up on EFSA's report by March 2026, but it has already taken a key step towards making fur farming illegal.
Just last week, the Commission listed the American mink – introduced to Europe for fur production – as an invasive species, meaning that national governments will have to prohibit their breeding and sale.
Mark Oaten, CEO of the International Fur Federation, told Euractiv that the organisation disagreed with some of the issues raised by EFSA in its report, adding that "more research is needed on some of the welfare measures."
"Animal welfare is a priority for the whole fur community, and I am confident we already have the very highest standards," he said. Potential loopholes But animal welfare advocates weren't surprised by EFSA's findings.
Reineke Hameleers, the CEO of Eurogroup for Animals, said that confining "inherently wild animals in cages for a luxury product" is a violation of animal welfare in itself. "In light of this new EFSA assessment (...) we urge the European Commission to ban fur farming across the EU, in line with the demands of EU citizens."
NGOs argue that a blanket ban is needed to prevent member states from exploiting loopholes in EU rules on invasive species.
'When the raccoon dog was added to the [invasive species] list in 2019, Finland and Poland exploited the derogation and were granted authorisation for 30 years,' said the NGO Humane World for Animals.
Beyond welfare concerns, activists have also called for a shutdown of the EU fur industry on public health grounds.
In 2020, Denmark, which used to be the world's largest producer of mink fur, made headlines when it culled its entire mink population – up to 17 million – fearing the spread of COVID mutations found in fur farms.
(ssm, jp, aw)