Estonia: Fur farms to be banned
Estonia is banning fur farms. The remaining operations must close by the end of 2025. Another step against fur farming in Europe.
Fur farms will be banned in Estonia in the future – the remaining operations must close by the end of 2025.
In the parliament in Tallinn, 55 members of parliament voted in favour of the corresponding legislative amendment on 2 June 2021, with 19 voting against.
Estonia is the ninth EU country to pass a ban on the cruel practice of fur farming. Eight EU member states had previously introduced keeping bans following sustained animal welfare debates at national level, some of which are still within their transition periods (Belgium, Croatia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria, Slovakia, Slovenia, and the Czech Republic). In five further member states, parliamentary proceedings are underway to introduce such bans (Bulgaria, France, Ireland, Lithuania, and Poland). In Switzerland, there are no longer any fur farms due to stricter husbandry regulations.
Due to massive COVID-19 outbreaks on more than 400 mink farms in the EU, the planned ban on mink farms in the Netherlands, originally scheduled for 2024, was brought forward to 2021. Denmark, Sweden, and Italy have suspended mink breeding until 2022. In Flanders, the last region with mink farms in Belgium, mink farmers have ceased production until the end of 2021 due to the risk of coronavirus and low fur prices.
The breeding and killing of animals in Estonia solely for the purpose of obtaining fur will thus be prohibited. Animal welfare advocates had repeatedly criticised the cage keeping practices on fur farms as cruel, and now spoke of a “historic victory.”
«“We have been working towards this for years and are very pleased that Estonia has become the first Baltic state to ban fur farms”, said Annaliisa Post of the animal welfare organisation Loomus. A ban has been under discussion in the country since 2009, when the issue was first raised in parliament. However, two earlier draft laws failed in 2017 and 2019.
The signals from EU member states are clear: fur farms are no longer acceptable. Beyond the cruel animal suffering on farms solely for the production of easily replaceable fashion items, the COVID-19 pandemic has also exposed the serious health risks posed by mink farms. To protect the welfare of both animals and people, fur farming must be ended across the EU as quickly as possible.
Thomas Pietsch, wildlife and fur expert at FOUR PAWS
Link to the petition For an end to the cruel fur industry before it causes the next pandemic
