Conditions at 31 fur farms across Europe have drawn criticism from animal rights activists after videos emerged depicting deceased and mutilated foxes in cages and minks suffering from severe eye infections.
The Humane Society International (HSI), an animal rights group, released these videos, which were captured clandestinely at various fur farms. The footage originated from 20 farms in Lithuania, five in Finland, two each in Poland and Spain, and one each in Denmark and Latvia. These recordings, taken between April and November this year, were the result of visits by multiple animal rights associations, including Oikeutta elaimille in Finland, Otwarte Klatki in Poland, and Tu Abrigo Su Vida in Spain.
According to Kristo Muurimaa, an activist at Oikeutta Elaimille, these groups collectively made approximately 100 visits to these fur farms.
Photographs and videos viewed by AFP reveal distressing images of caged minks, foxes, and raccoon dogs suffering from illness and convulsions, alongside deceased animals with visible wounds in their cages.
HSI, representing these associations, emphasised the urgent need for a Europe-wide ban on fur farming, citing the distressing conditions captured in the images.
Wendy Higgins, spokeswoman for Humane Society International, said, “We need a Europe-wide ban on fur farming because it is quite evident that animal suffering is part of the fabric of the fur farming industry.”
A petition calling for an end to the fur industry has collected over 1.5 million signatures from citizens within the EU. This surpasses the one million signatures needed to prompt a response from the European Commission, leading to its submission to the Commission. Its answer is expected by 14th December.
The fur industry, represented by Mark Oaten, head of the International Fur Federation, dismissed the criticism, stating, “I am not going to react to (the conclusions drawn by) people who break into farms and frighten the animals and create videos which are misleading. We welcome a scientific review of fur farming at the EU level, we have nothing to hide,” he told AFP.
While 20 European countries have banned fur farms, including 15 EU member states, Finland, the leading fur farming nation in Europe, still houses around 400 farms and approximately 1.3 million animals, primarily minks and foxes.
