Campaign Against Fur Farming

I am really proud that the UK was the first country worldwide to ban fur farming in 2000 in England and Wales and in 2002 for Scotland and Northern Ireland, and I agree we need to be doing as much as possible to ensure that our commitment to protecting animals is upheld. Our Government has recently published the opinion on the responsible sourcing of fur by the UK’s expert Animal Welfare Committee and the summary of responses to the call for evidence on the fur trade in Great Britain, which was commissioned by our previous Government. Building on this, I understand our Government will bring together a working group on fur, with involvement from industry experts and those who support restrictions on the trade in fur. I know our Government will also engage with the European Union, a major source of fur imported into the UK, as it considers the results of the European Commission’s recent call for evidence on the ‘Fur Free Europe’ Citizens’ Initiative and the findings of a recent report. This outlines the scientific view of the welfare of animals kept for fur production.

My colleagues at the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs are keen to explore concerns around the trade and the different ways they could be addressed, so I want to assure everyone who wrote to me about this that I will closely follow developments on this issue, and thank you sincerely for bringing it to my attention.