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Sign now to end fur cruelty in Europe

The Fur Free Europe European Citizens’ Initiative has closed, ahead of schedule, after registering support from more than 1.7 million EU citizens. It’s now time for the European Commission to act and ban this cruel practice across the European Union. 

Launched on 18 May 2022 with a target of 1 million signatures within 12 months, the ECI called on the EU to ban fur farming and placing on the market of farmed fur products. It achieved its target in less than 10 months with the support of more than 80 campaigning organisations from across Europe, including many members of the Fur Free Alliance. Last night, the ECI was officially closed and the signatures will now be sent for validation as part of the ECI process before being presented to the European Commission.

There has never been a more urgent need for Europe to end the cruel and unnecessary fur trade. It’s time to #MakeFurHistory

 

On fur farms, animals including fox, mink, raccoon dogs and chinchillas are kept for their entire lives in tiny wire cages, before being killed and skinned for so-called fashion. The confinement on fur cage farms prevents animals from expressing their natural behavior and causes severe animal welfare problems – such as self-mutilation and infected wounds.

Fur production is also an incredibly wasteful and toxic process and poses a significant threat to local biodiversity.

Across Europe citizens, politicians, retailers and designers are turning their backs on fur. 

Opinion polls from across Europe, and beyond, have consistently demonstrated that the majority of citizens consider breeding animals for fur unacceptable. More than 1,500 retailers have agreed to stop selling real fur and have signed-up to the Fur Free Retailers programme and a whole raft of major fashion brands – including Gucci, Chanel, Moncler, Michael Kors and Prada – are turning their backs on real animal fur and are opting for more sustainable alternatives.

In the past year alone, France, Italy, Ireland, and Estonia have joined the growing list of EU countries that have introduced legislation to prohibit or phase-out fur production. Proposals to ban fur farming are presently also being considered in Romania, Lithuania and Poland.

There is no future for the cruel and outdated fur industry. 

The Fur Free Alliance believes the number of signatures collected sends a very clear message from EU citizens to the European Commission that fur farming must end.  The practice is not only cruel to animals, it is bad for the environment and, given the hundreds of outbreaks of COVID-19 in mink on fur farms, also raises serious public health concerns. 

 

 

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