Earlier this month, exciting developments were announced in Europe that bring us one step closer to stopping the fur trade for good: Estonia officially banned fur farming, making it the 14th European country to join this movement, and the United Kingdom has begun a public consultation process that animal welfare advocates hope will lead to a complete ban on sales and imports of fur. Although fur farming has been banned across the U.K. since 2002, it has imported more than £800 million worth of real fur merchandise since then, thus facilitating the fur trade in other countries. Surveys conducted recently in the U.K. indicated an exceedingly high level of public support for the fur ban, with 72% of U.K. residents expressing their approval. This level of public support suggests that owning and wearing fur has become irrelevant in modern-day fashion, which in turn relieves millions of animals from suffering the cruel conditions repeatedly documented at fur farms around the world. Similarly, 75% of Estonians support the recent ban on fur farming. Since discussing fur farming bans beginning in 2009, the number of animals kept at fur farms has already dropped drastically from over 200,000 to just 1,000 animals throughout Estonia.
While these victories for our fur-bearing friends continue overseas, it serves as a reminder that the United States is falling far behind and needs to move on legislation to outlaw the fur trade, now more than ever. The U.S. legislative landscape has remained unchanged regarding fur farm regulations pertaining to animal welfare, animal killing, waste disposal, and monitoring risks to public health for at least the last ten years, despite numerous reports documenting severely unethical methods in each category.
In general, the laws that currently exist to protect animals in the United States, including the Animal Welfare Act, Humane Slaughter Act, Endangered Species Act, Lacey Act, and the Fur Seal Act do not protect animals on fur farms. Although the United States has adopted two federal laws prohibiting the sale or import of dog and cat products (the Dog and Cat Fur Protection Act) and requires all fur retailers to specify the source and species of all furs sold (the Fur Products Labeling Act), these laws also do not take any measures to protect animals on fur farms. Twenty-eight states do not require any type of permit or license to operate a fur farm at all, and only seven states require fur farm inspections.
Without any protection and little to no regulating agency presence that oversees the enforcement of the few laws that do exist, fur-bearing animals are crammed into too-small cages, killed brutally, and live in filth every day that this trade remains legal. Air and water in areas close to fur farms continue to be exposed to dangerous contamination from the chemicals used to kill and preserve animals, while improperly disposed biohazardous waste exposes wild animals and nearby humans to an array of zoological diseases.
Similar to that observed in the U.K., it is becoming more evident each year that fur is not desirable anymore. From 2017-2019, the annual United States mink production has seen a significant decrease in overall pelt value from $120 million to $59.2 million per year, indicating a drop in demand for fur. In the best interest of the animals, and apparently in the best interest of fashion too, the United States must follow the example other countries have provided and amend current legislation to ban fur farms.
Keep Wildlife in the Wild,
Devan
