The Minister for Agriculture is being urged to include rabbits on a list of animals that will be covered by legislation to ban fur farming in Ireland.
Minister Charlie McConalogue (Fianna Fáil) has stated that the inclusion “is being considered”.
In a Dail Question this week, Paul Murphy TD (RISE/Solidarity) asked the Minister “the animals which will be covered by the upcoming legislation to ban fur farming and if rabbits will be included in the list”.
Responding, Minister McConalogue stated: “The Animal Health and Welfare (Fur farming) Bill 2020 presently applies to cats, chinchillas, dogs, foxes, mink and weasels (including stoats).”
“The inclusion of rabbits in this list is being considered,” he added.
It is vital that rabbits are included to prevent any possible rabbit farming activities in the future. The farming of rabbits for their fur, currently carried out in other countries, causes much suffering to the animals who are crammed into cages and brutally killed before the fur is pulled from their bodies.
The Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade (CAFT) has condemned the activity as “a hideous trade”.
“The factory farming of rabbits for their fur and flesh sees millions of rabbits confined to bare wire cages, kept as breeding machines, their throats slit and their furs turned into boots, hats, gloves and trim for jackets.”
Rabbits are also susceptible to the highly contagious and deadly Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease (RHD2) which causes death within a few days. Infected animals suffer swollen eyelids and partial paralysis and bleed from the eyes and mouth. The virus has been identified in Ireland and has caused the deaths of rabbits and hares here.
ACTION ALERT
Join us in urging Minister McConalogue to add rabbits to the list of animals covered by the upcoming legislation to ban fur farming in Ireland.
Charlie McConalogue
Minister for Agriculture
Tel: (01) 618 3199
Email: minister@agriculture.gov.ie; charlie.mcconalogue@oireachtas.ie
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/CharlieMcConalogue
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@McConalogue
SAMPLE LETTER
(If you have time, please write your own personal letter)
Dear Minister McConalogue,
I am writing to urge you to please include rabbits in the Animal Health and Welfare (Fur farming) Bill 2020.
Rabbit fur farming subjects these timid creatures to a life of misery in cages and a brutal killing.
Please act to ensure that the upcoming ban on fur farming in Ireland includes rabbits and all animals.
Thank you.
Yours sincerely,
[Name/Location]