25 APRIL 2017 – In a letter to the members of the Bosnian House of Peoples the Fur Free Alliance urges the Bosnian government to stay committed to the Animal Protection and Welfare Act that was voted upon in 2009 and make an end to fur farming.

In 2009 Bosnia and Herzegovina passed a law to ban fur farming with a 9 year phase-out period, that would make fur farming illegal in 2018. With an unusual, urgent procedure the Bosnian government has recently voted for a last-minute postponement of the ban. Worldwide organisations are urging Bosnia and Herzegovina to stay committed and make an end to the cruel practice of fur farming.  Joh Vinding, Chair for the Fur Free Alliance, says:

“In the last eight years, fur farmers in Bosnia and Herzegovina were given the opportunity to transition to a more sustainable industry. Prolonging the phase-out period would be unjustifiable to farmers that have respected the law. Besides, it would weaken the reliability of legislation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, given the unjustified, urgent procedure used by the House of Peoples to annul legislation that was voted upon by the Bosnian government eight years ago in 2009.”

Read the full letter to the members of the House of Peoples.

Fur coats or fashion accessories are non-essential luxury items. An increasing majority of the population finds it unjustifiable to subject animals to prolonged suffering for trivial ends, such as fashion items. The ethical concerns of a large majority of the European citizens and the inherent cruelty of fur farming have led more and more countries to close down fur farms in recent years. In 2000 the UK was the first country in Europe to ban fur farming on the ground of public morality. Other European countries that decided to ban fur farming since are Austria, The Netherlands, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia.