Many states have asked the EU Commission to ban the breeding of fur animals

The proposal was presented by Austria and the Netherlands and has already received the support of Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, Italy, Poland, Bulgaria, Ireland and Slovakia

Activists against fur farming during the pandemic (photo: Ipa) A coalition of countries led by Austria and the Netherlands has asked the European Commission to ban the farming of fur animals throughout the Union. The proposal, sent in a note during the last European Council of Agriculture Ministers, has already won the support of Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, Italy, Poland, Bulgaria, Ireland and Slovakia. However, other countries have expressed some reservations.

“As of today, there is no justification for the breeding of fur animals and we will give our utmost support to find the legislative tools for a common position in all member states to prohibit this practice, ”said Italian agriculture minister Stefano Patuanelli during his speech to the Council, reported by Euractive. "The time has come for the Union to take a step forward on this topic", the joint note reads, "and to put an end to an economic activity that is undoubtedly harmful to animal welfare".

The breeding of fur animals is a decidedly cruel practice. The beasts are in fact raised intensively, in batteries and spend their short life in very small cages, unsuitable for the survival of any type of animal. Furthermore, the problem of the well-being of animal life is joined by that of public health. In fact, since April 2020, over 400 fur farms across Europe have registered outbreaks of Covid-19 among their minks and health authorities have discovered that these animals can be a vector of transmission of Covid-19 to humans. Since then, hundreds of thousands of farmed mink have been culled across Europe for fear that they might trigger new mutations in the virus.

The signatories to the proposal have therefore also taken into consideration the specific risk that this type of mink can lead to public health, calling for more drastic measures to limit the dangers to humans and to improve the welfare of the animals in question.

Opposing countries

Romania, Greece and Lithuania yes they are totally opposed to the ban on raising fur animals, while Hungary has accepted the initiative but only as regards carnivores and not herbivores. Position also supported in part by France, which would support a ban on wild species, excluding those raised for both meat and fur, such as rabbits.


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