Italy to ban fur farming and shut down all mink farms within six months
Photos from an investigation at a Finnish Fur Farm | Credit: HSI
NEWS: The Italian Senate today voted to approve changes to a budget law that will see the country’s 10 remaining mink farms closed within six months and a permanent ban on fur farming throughout Italy.
Italy is to become the 16th European country to ban fur farming due to animal cruelty and the risk to public health posed by zoonotic diseases, including Covid-19 found in mink populations in 465 farms across 12 countries.
The vote follows talks with animal protection organisation Humane Society International/Europe, which provided solutions to close or convert fur farms into humane and sustainable businesses as part of its recent report Mink breeding in Italy: Mapping and future perspectives.
HSI/Europe’s proposal was endorsed by Italian MP Michela Vittoria Brambilla, who launched the action to implement the conversion plan with existing public funds, and Senator Loredana De Petris who formally submitted the amendment.
"This is an historic victory for animal protection in Italy, and HSI/Europe is immensely proud that our fur farm conversion strategy has played a central role in dismantling this cruel and dangerous industry in our country,” said Martina Pluda, director of HSI in Italy.
“There are very clear economic, environmental, public health and of course animal welfare reasons to close and ban fur farms. Today’s vote recognises that allowing the mass breeding of wild animals for frivolous fur fashion represents a risk to both animals and people that can’t be justified by the limited economic benefits it offers to a small minority of people involved in this cruel industry. With so many designers, retailers and consumers going fur-free, conversion of fur farms offers people a sustainable future that the fur trade simply cannot provide.”
The decision still has to be passed by the Italian Parliament, but this is expected to happen within days and before the New Year. When it does, the amendment will include an immediate ban on the breeding of all fur-bearing animals including mink, foxes, raccoon dogs and chinchillas, and the closure of all active fur farms by June 30 next year.
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Michela Vittoria Brambilla, president of the Parliamentary Intergroup for Animal Rights, said: "In thirty years of animal rights battle this is the best victory. Finally, a parliamentary vote sanctions the end of unspeakable suffering inflicted on animals only in the name of profit and vanity. Italy is the twentieth European country to introduce a ban or severe restriction on fur farming: better late than never.
“Now we await the final approval of the budget law, but the political will has been clearly expressed. A dream comes true that animal protection associations have cultivated for decades in our country."
In February, the European Food Safety Agency stated that all mink farms should be considered at risk for Covid-19 outbreaks. This followed a Risk Assessment published by the World Health Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and World Organisation for Animal Health identified Europe as a high-risk region for the spread of Covid-19 within fur farms, plus spillover from fur farms to humans and wildlife.
In April, Surge spoke to vegan politician Carl Valentin about the ban on mink farms in Denmark and the part Covid-19 played in the government’s decision.
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Andrew Gough is Media and Investigations Manager for Surge.
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