Petition: Ban Fur Farming and Fur Import in the European Union

EU wide Ban on Fur Farming and Fur Import

Dear President Van Rompuy, Dear Commissioner Cioloş, Dear Commissioner Potočnik, Dear EU Politicians

Recent undercover footage obtained from an Animal Defenders International (ADI) and Oikeutta Eläimille investigation, which was filmed over a period of seven months on 30 different farms across Finland, has pulled back the curtain on an exceedingly cruel industry.

Please watch these videos:
http://furstop.com/
http://vimeo.com/9476403
http://tarhauskielto.fi/en/content/narpio-fronas-1
http://www.granjasdevisones.org/ (mink farms in Spain)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCoJLjMYyBs&feature=related (mink farms in Germany)
http://anima.dk/forbydminkavl/index.html (mink farms in Denmark)
http://www.youtube.com/user/VIERVOETERS#p/a/u/2/I72kRigSKaw (mink farms in the Netherlands)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rnfsmk61vDc (the killing method used for foxes - anal electrocution, considered a "human method" by the EU!!)

These videos reveal exactly what the fur industry does not want anyone to know about or see. Foxes and minks are trapped in cages so small that animals often go insane, resort to cannibalism and chew off their own tails in an effort to escape the pain. The conditions that these beautiful animals are forced to endure are torturous and medieval.

What you see on the videos above is the fur farm REALITY in the European Union!! In Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, France, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Greece, Romania, Czech Republic, Poland, the Baltic States, Hungary. The same conditions everywhere. Is this the EU standard for animal welfare and protection?!!

The Report by the European Scientific Committee on Animal Health and Animal Welfare (December 2001) finds that there are serious problems with animal welfare at the fur farms. The species-specific recommendations (on pages 183-186 of the report) have been totally ignored by the fur producing EU countries and have not led to any improvements on the fur farms, for more than 8 years already. The indifference of the EU institutions is shocking!!
The committee findings also support the argument that these animal species are unsuitable for life in captivity. Here is the report: http://ec.europa.eu/food/animal/welfare/international/out67_en.pdf

Considering all this stated above, and knowing the real price of fur, I respectfully urge you, the EU politicians:

- to take urgent measures to BAN all kind of Fur Farming all over the EU. Breeding and killing animals for their fur is an extremely cruel practice. These wild animals (foxes, minks, ferrets etc.) belong in nature, not stuffed in cages waiting for their death, by anal electrocution or gassing!! Making profit of the suffering and murder of these animals is highly IMMORAL and unacceptable!! Their death serves only to bring money to the fur producers and to the fashion industry, and to satisfy the vanity of the people who wear fur, a luxury product absolutely unnecessary in the 21st century. Is this ethical and human?!

- to BAN the Import of Fur Products deriving from animals that are not part of the meat industry. Even if fur farming gets banned all over the EU, the import of fur will keep encouraging the same cruel business elsewhere, and will just re-locate fur production. (You can see here the current situation at the approved Norwegian fur farms: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2i6pocxJO8)

An excellent example to the EU can be the United Kingdom and Austria which banned fur farming already, as well as Israel where a full ban on fur production and fur trade is planned. I hope the EU will act in the same responsible way!

Thank you for your attention and consideration to this urgent issue.

Sincerely,

[Your name]