(18/07/2000) European Commission argues against 'unilateral action' on fur farming

The European Commission has said countries such as the UK should wait for its proposed new European Union legislation covering fur farming "before taking any unilateral measures". This follows formal opposition from six Member States — France, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Spain and Greece — to the proposed ban on fur farming in England and Wales.

Despite this reaction from the European Commission, the Government continues to push through the Fur Farming (Prohibition) Bill and it will reach the House of Lords for debate on Wednesday, 19 July 2000. The Government justifies the proposed legislation on ‘public morality’ grounds believing that farmed fur production is an unnecessary luxury.

European Commission General Secretary, David O’Sullivan, in his written reaction to the British move to ban fur farming, emphasises that the law is unclear when basing any ban on "public morality". But he goes on to point out that the EC scientific veterinary committee "has recently started a study with the view to set common rules on the welfare of animals kept for the value of their fur". This is expected to take the form of a new Directive that will take as its basis the latest Council of Europe Recommendation on farmed fur animal welfare that was agreed last summer.

During the passage of the Bill through the House of Commons, Opposition MPs described the Bill as an ‘ugly, dreadful measure’ that is ‘skewered on the peg of political correctness’.

In defending the right of farmers to farm animals for whatever purpose, so long as there is good animal welfare, the MPs maintained that the Bill offends ‘every liberal instinct and principle’ and that it is both ‘conceptually’ and ‘legally’ flawed. They also warned the Government that should the Bill become law, it is ‘certain to be challenged in the European Court’ which will incur ‘considerable costs’ to the taxpayer. And they accused the Government of ‘blundering on with specious legislation’ to satisfy the animal rights lobby after receiving a £1million pre-election donation.

The British Fur Trade Association says: "A UK ban on fur production will have no effect on the growth and popularity of fur as a natural fibre for fashion and cold weather clothing. Nor will it find support amongst European governments generally.

"In fact, the latest haute couture fashion shows — in Paris and continuing this week in Milan — prove just how popular fur is today, with more than two-thirds of the designers choosing to use real fur.

"Throughout, New Labour has been unable to explain adequately why it finds farmed fur production against public morality and more importantly, it has failed to explain convincingly why it feels it has a remit to introduce a ban rather than ensure the rights of individuals and minorities are adequately protected.

"Given that fur farmed animals have amongst the best animal welfare of all farmed animals according to leading European scientists, and the European Commission is in the process of preparing a Directive on fur farm standards, the UK’s action shows scant regard for democracy and the rights of individuals," the British Fur Trade Association maintains.

The British Fur Trade Association adds: "It would seem the Labour Government cares more for animal rights than it does for people — illustrating just how far they are in the grip of these illiberal organisations. But this will have no effect on the 6,000 other fur farmers in Europe, since the UK accounts for less than 0.01% of world production."

-ends-

Issued by the British Fur Trade Association.
Press contact: Andrea Martin
e-mail press@britishfur.co.uk

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Notes to editors:

The Fur Farming (Prohibition) Bill 2nd Reading in the House of Lords is expected on Wednesday, 19 July. David Sullivan, General Secretary of the European Commission issued his reaction to the UK’s response to the six countries — France, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Spain and Greece — that oppose the proposed ban on fur farming in England and Wales on 12 June 2000.
For more information on the July 2000 haute couture collections see www.sagafurs.com. For the coming winter season, more designers than ever before are featuring real fur in their collections — at roundly 240 designers, this is a six-fold increase since 1985 when statistics were first recorded.
Tim Yeo MP, asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what definition he uses of public morality in his policy on banning fur farming in this country in a written parliamentary question. Nick Brown, the Minister replied that ‘public morality is not susceptible to an absolute definition’ but rather is a ‘subjective’ notion (Hansard, 22 June 2000).
Fur farming is specifically recognised as a legitimate agricultural activity in the European Union. EU Council Directive 98/58/EC of 20 July 1998 concerning the protection of animals kept for farming purposes lists fur farming along with cattle, pigs and sheep and became law on 31 December 1999. There is also an EU Council Directive 93/119/EC of 22 December 1993 on the protection of animals at the time of slaughtering or killing, which also covers fur farmed animals.
Farmed fur accounts for more than 85% to total world trade in fur. The majority of production is carried out in the EU (Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Sweden, The Netherlands and the UK).
Farmed mink production in the EU accounts for 70% of total world production. In 1999, world farmed mink production was 25 million pelts, of which 17.5 million were produced within the EU.