FINLAND, 8 NOVEMBER 2017 – The selective breeding of super-sized foxes, that was recently exposed on Finnish fur farms, has caused an uproar in the international press. The shocking footage, that shows Arctic foxes so large they can barely move, has alarmed citizens and animal rights organisations across the globe.

Member organisations of the international animal protection coalition Fur Free Alliance urge Finland to use all measures available to end the cruel breeding of the extremely overweight Arctic foxes.

Veikka Lahtinen, the campaign coordinator of the Finnish animal rights organisation Animalia, says:

“The industry has been aware of the problem for a while. A study published in 2014 showed that during autumn as many as 86 percent of the animals had bent feet and a shocking 20 percent were morbidly obese. Officials need to take action and the Finnish Animal Welfare Act needs to grant officials a stronger mandate to ban selective breeding that causes significant damage to the animal.”

The Arctic foxes that are fattened up for the fur trade sometimes weigh 5 times their natural weight. As a result of the overweight, the foxes suffer from severe welfare problems such as loose skin and bent feet.

Member organisations of the Fur Free Alliance encourage companies in Finland and all around the world to give up fur products entirely and go fur-free. Brigit Oele, program manager of the Fur Free Alliance, says:

“Serious animal welfare problems are inherent to fur production. There is simply no way to keep animals in tiny battery cages without causing extreme suffering.”