UK Fur Trade Must Be Curbed, Says Parliamentary Committee Following HSI's #FurFreeBritain Campaign

LONDON, July 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

EFRA Committee calls for Government action to tackle cruel fur sales  

An Inquiry by the Environment Food and Rural Affairs Committee, launched in response to investigations by Humane Society International UK and media partners, published its report today calling on Government to hold a public consultation to consider whether to ban the import and sale of animal fur in the UK, post-Brexit. The report, welcomed by HSI UK which leads the #FurFreeBritain campaign, also calls on the Government to introduce a new mandatory fur and animal product labelling regime to enable consumers to make informed buying choices.

In response to the Committee's question 'Should the UK ban fur?', HSI UK presented detailed evidence of the inherent cruelty of fur farming and trapping, as well as the 'moral inconsistency' between the UK's ban on fur farming and the importation of fur, described by the charity as 'outsourcing cruelty'. Despite UK-wide bans of fur farming on ethical grounds since 2003, and EU bans on the sale of cat and dog fur (2007) and seal fur (2010), the UK still allows the import and sale of fur from a range of other species such as fox, rabbit, mink, coyote, racoon dog, and chinchilla. The vast majority of these animals are factory-farmed in battery cage systems in countries such as China, Poland and Finland. According to the most recent trade statistics from HMRC, in the last year* the UK imported almost £75 million of animal fur (£74,154,873). It's a double standard that HSI UK hopes to see outlawed.

HSI UK Executive Director Claire Bass said "The UK was the first country in the world to ban fur farming, after the British public, politicians and veterinary experts concluded that it is an inhumane and completely unnecessary industry. So it is total double standard for us to still be importing and selling fur from animals still suffering the same conditions we banned here. The UK Government has the opportunity to blaze a trail as the first country to ban the sale of all animal fur, so we are delighted that EFRA Committee members are pressing government to launch a public consultation to help inform and build that case. Our #FurFreeBritain campaign already has the support of the British public, veterinary experts, as well as an ever-growing list of retailers and designers who see that the future of fashion is fur-free. With innovation in textiles offering high quality humane alternatives to real fur, the fur trade's days are clearly numbered, but it can't end quickly enough for the hundreds of millions of animals trapped and tormented in tiny cages. A UK ban would be a major nail in the coffin of this morally bankrupt industry."