UPDATE! As of April 2021, there are no mink farms in Estonia. There is one fox farm that is planning to close the doors and less than 10 chinchilla farms. The parliament is discussing the bill, which would ban fur farms, for the third time, but this time things are going in our favour. The bill passed the first reading in October and has to pass two more readings to be adopted.

A national petition to ban fur farming in Estonia was signed by more than 10 000 Estonian citizens in 2014. The animal advocacy organization Loomus handed the signatures and the corresponding memorandum to the parliament. A public discussion about the memorandum was held at the Rural Affairs Committee. As a result of this discussion, the committee made an assignment to the Minister of Rural Affairs to conduct an analysis, which the latter ordered from the Estonian University of Life Sciences. In May 2016, the final report of an impact analysis on Estonian fur farming was presented to the committee. The Rural Affairs Committee closed the national petition, the bill was however introduced to the parliament by 14 parliament members from different parties.

On 10 May 2017, with 24 votes in favour and 49 against, the parliament of Estonia rejected the bill that would outlaw fur farming in Estonia over a period of ten years. The bill will be presented again until Estonia bans fur farming.

The bill was presented again in January 2019. With 28 votes for and 25 votes against, the Estonian parliament rejected a proposal to close fur farms with a 5-year transition period. 

According to two different public polls, 69 percent of the Estonian population is either “rather” or “definitely” against raising and killing animals in farms for the purpose of producing fur.

Banning fur farms in Estonia is an important step towards the state’s more ethical behavior. There is no place for cruel, environmentally hazardous and unnecessary fur farms in a modern, progressive society.

 
Video material:
Estonian mink and fox farm in 2012: https://youtu.be/9cmFSxZUvwA
Estonian mink and fox farm in 2014: https://youtu.be/CE803kY41P4E