WASHINGTON—After five years, a federal judge in the District of Columbia ruled last night that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service can no longer withhold valuable wildlife trade data—such as tracking the imports of at-risk species killed by trophy hunters—into the U.S. The ruling to make that information available resulted from a lawsuit filed by Humane Society International in 2016.
LEMIS data, which stands for “Law Enforcement Management Information System,” is a source that tracks every import and export of wildlife into and out of the United States. This includes hunting trophies like those of imperiled giraffes and leopards; live animals like birds and reptiles imported for the exotic pet trade; monkeys used for experiments at research facilities; and animal skins such as those from snakes and lions. Organizations like the Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society International use this data to track trends in wildlife trade, petition the government for increased domestic and international protections for species threatened by international trade, and hold the government accountable for its actions.
“The Fish and Wildlife Service should have never removed access to this information and has been unlawfully withholding imperative data that impacts wildlife, conservation and global health. Transparency and justice prevailed this week,” said Laura Smythe, a staff attorney for the Humane Society of the United States, representing Humane Society International. “The United States is the world’s largest importer of both legal and illegal wildlife parts and products, and it is critical that the public has access to the full picture of the role our country plays in this destructive industry.”
Transparency is critical as scientists and the public are acknowledging the link between the wildlife trade and the threat of future global pandemics. The full extent to which the wildlife trade contributes to the spread of diseases is still unknown—but this information is crucial to solving those missing links and preventing future outbreaks.
Humane Society International has used LEMIS data to petition the Fish and Wildlife Service for Endangered Species Act protections of species such as African elephants and giraffes, which are at extreme risk of extinction from trophy hunting and trade in their parts. Humane Society International also used the data to petition for Endangered Species Act protections for pangolins. Access to this data allows Humane Society International to measure the United States’ demand for imperiled wildlife products such as pangolin scales and identify where increased protections are urgently needed.
Humane Society International also needs this information to work towards increased global protections for these and many more animals through CITES—an international agreement that regulates trade in imperiled species. The data is critical to knowing the role the United States plays in the destructive trophy hunting industry.
ENDS
Media contact: Wendy Higgins, Humane Society International: 07989 972423; Whiggins@hsi.org
The Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society International celebrate as more Kering brands join fur-free Gucci and Bottega Veneta
Humane Society International / Europe
RT-Images/iStock.com
PARIS—Iconic British fashion houses Alexander McQueen and luxury Spanish designer Balenciaga are the latest Kering-owned brands to announce fur-free policies. Humane Society International and the Humane Society of the United States have been working with Kering, and its brands, for more than a decade on adopting a fur-free policy. McQueen and Balenciaga are the latest to join a rapidly expanding group of fashion designers dropping fur, including Prada, Gucci, Armani, Versace, Michael Kors, Jimmy Choo, DKNY, Burberry and Chanel.
The fur-free announcement was made in Kering’s 2020 Universal Registration document, which reads “Most of the Group’s Houses do not use fur. For example, Gucci is part of the Fur Free Retailer program promoted by NGO Fur Free Alliance, and has banned the use of furs across its entire range since its Spring/Summer 2018 collections. Gucci is also committed to no longer using angora. Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen and MCQ also no longer use fur in their collections.”
Gucci previously announced its fur-free policy in 2017, and according to Bottega Veneta, they’ve been fur-free for nearly 20 years. Only Kering’s Saint Laurent and Brioni have yet to announce fur-free policies.
Kitty Block, president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States and CEO of Humane Society International, said, “Every time a big fashion name like Alexander McQueen or Balenciaga goes fur-free, it sends a clear message that fur has no place in a modern society. This is a statement that consumers care more about sustainable solutions than the fur trim on a bag or a coat. We look forward to continuing our work with Kering, and the rest of the industry, to ensure that humane and innovative materials are the future of fashion.”
This announcement comes as several cities, states and even entire countries look to ban fur sales. In 2019, California became the first US state to ban furs sales, after several of its cities—including Los Angeles and San Francisco—passed similar legislation. Lawmakers in several other US states have already introduced fur sales bans in 2021, and in the United Kingdom, which banned fur production in 2003, the government is now considering calls for the UK to become the first country to ban fur sales.
ENDS
Media contacts:
Wendy Higgins, Humane Society International: 07989 972423; Whiggins@hsi.org
Update: As of 2021, HealthyFarm has published that it no longer buys eggs from caged hens.
DANANG—HealthyFarm, a sustainable retailer in Vietnam, officially announced a policy to highlight animal welfare in its supply chain, committing to sell only cage-free eggs. The social enterprise worked with Humane Society International, a leading global animal protection organization, on the adoption of this policy. By working and supporting its farmer networks, HealthyFarm’s new policy will help to improve the lives of up to 10,000 hens this year. HeathyFarm will focus on growth and expansion in the years to come.
Established in 2016 in Danang, HealthyFarm is a social enterprise focusing on food sustainability including natural farming practices and upholding animal welfare. The enterprise seeks to protect public health while maintaining low environmental impact. HealthyFarm’s mission is to bring clean, safe and natural food to consumers while simultaneously supporting the local farmers and local communities. After nearly five years of operation, HealthyFarm has distributed more than half a million free-range eggs to both wholesale and retail channels. Starting from 2020, the social enterprise has been partnering with HSI and World Animal Protection to develop networks of small-scale producers from rural communities to fulfill its commitment to serve 100% cage-free eggs in its stores and to its business customers. This is one of HealthyFarm’s most dedicated projects as it matches the organization’s mission. Additionally, HealthyFarm is planning several consumer engagement events to raise awareness about cage-free eggs and animal welfare across Vietnam.
Dr. Kasia Weina, founding partner and director of HealthyFarm, stated: “We are excited to take the next steps towards sustainable, responsible consumption that highlights ethical treatment of animals throughout our supply chain. We aim to pioneer this movement and continue to raise awareness and facilitate change surrounding this issue.”
Hang Le, corporate outreach manager for HSI/Vietnam, stated: “We applaud HealthyFarm for joining hundreds of food companies around the globe in pledging to source only cage-free eggs, and we invite other companies to do the same. Through commitments like these, consumers and the food industry in the country are sending a clear message: Immobilizing egg-laying hens in cages is unacceptable, and the days of not questioning how animals are treated in the food industry are long gone. The future of egg production is cage-free, and we look forward to continuing to work with HealthyFarm on the implementation of this policy.”
In Vietnam, the vast majority of egg-laying hens are confined in wire battery cages, where each hen has less space than an A4-sized sheet of paper to spend her entire life. Battery cages are inherently cruel—hens are unable to move freely or express important natural behaviour, including nesting, perching and dustbathing. Cage-free systems generally offer hens higher levels of animal welfare than battery cage systems.
HealthyFarm joins other multinational companies that have made similar global cage-free egg commitments that apply to Vietnam and the rest of Asia, including 4P’s Corporation, AccorHotels, Hilton Hotels and Resorts, Nestle, Sodexo and Mondelez International, among others.
MEXICO CITY—Mica and Lalo, a restaurant and agroecological market, has committed to exclusively sourcing eggs from cage-free hens and pork from producers who do not confine mother pigs to crates throughout its supply chain by the end of 2021. With this announcement, Mica y Lalo joins the growing list of more than 200 companies around the world, like Bimbo, Barilla and McDonald’s, among others, that have pledged to include only cage-free eggs and pork in their supply chains.
Micaela Patiño, owner of Mica and Lalo, said: “Regardless of which link we belong to in the food chain: producer, supplier, processor, cook or consumer, the decisions we make are not isolated. We must take responsibility for our actions and inform ourselves of the impact they have. We can no longer blindfold ourselves or let others act. The congruence of our saying with our actions will be the basis of the change we want to see.”
Arianna Torres, of Humane Society International/ Mexico, said: “We congratulate Mica and Lalo for adopting this important commitment, where they prioritize the welfare conditions of farm animals and in this way contribute not only to guaranteed freedom of movement for laying hens and pregnant sows, but also provide their consumers with food in harmony with nature.”
This commitment improves the lives of tens of thousands of laying hens in Mexico. The country’s conventional industrial production systems often confine chickens for their entire lives in tiny cages made of wire. The cages are so small that the chickens cannot even fully stretch their wings. Common sense and science agree that restraining animals for virtually their entire lives causes significant physical pain and stress.
More and more companies are adopting responsible consumption policies. HSI will continue working with Mica and Lalo and other companies to remove animal cruelty from their supply chains.
ENDS
Media contact: Laura Bravo, Mexico: 555-456-1476; laurabravocom@gmail.com
Humane Society International / Mexico
David Paul Morris
MEXICO CITY—La Hacienda San Andrés, a XVI hacienda, has committed to sourcing exclusively cage-free eggs throughout its egg supply chain by the end 2021. The hotel made this decision because of animal welfare concerns with caging systems and to emphasize sustainable, responsible sourcing.
Chef and partner of Hacienda San Andrés, Marco Margain, said: “We are committed to our consumers to provide only eggs from cage-free birds. With this we reaffirm our social responsibility and maintain the highest standards for our clients regarding animal welfare.”
Arianna Torres, from HSI/Mexico, said: “We congratulate Hacienda San Andrés gourmet hotel for deciding to serve only cage-free eggs. More and more companies are adopting responsible consumption policies, and we will continue working with Hacienda San Andrés and other companies in favor of farm animal welfare.”
With this commitment, Hacienda San Andrés joins the list of more than 200 companies in Mexico and around the world, including Grupo Bimbo, CMR Restaurants, Grupo Alsea, Toks Restaurants, Barilla and many others, that have committed to source produced in systems that provide freedom from intensive confinement.
Mexico is one of the largest egg consumer countries in the world, according to data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and more than 99% of laying are confined in an area smaller than a sheet of letter-size paper, where they cannot express their natural behavior, causing physical and psychological suffering.
ENDS
Media contact: Laura Bravo, Mexico: 555-456-1476; laurabravocom@gmail.com
Humane Society International
Michelle Riley/The HSUS
SÃO PAULO—Casa Santa Luzia, a traditional high-end supermarket in the city of São Paulo, announced it will sell exclusively cage-free eggs by 2023.
This commitment comes after many years of working with Humane Society International and other animal protection organizations. HSI will continue to work with the company in Brazil during the implementation of this policy.
Ianê Almeida, animal welfare specialist for HSI Farm Animals in Brazil, said: “We congratulate Casa Santa Luzia for adopting a full 100% cage-free egg commitment, and we look forward to continuing to work with the company and its egg suppliers on the implementation of this policy. This decision sends a clear message to the egg industry that the future of egg production is cage-free in Brazil.”
This commitment will improve the lives of thousands of egg-laying hens. Egg-laying hens in Brazil are typically confined for their whole lives in wire cages so small that they cannot even fully stretch their wings. Cage-free production systems typically offer hens higher levels of welfare, allowing the birds to express more of their natural behavior, including ground scratching and pecking, laying their eggs in nests, perching and fully spreading their wings. HSI works together with the food industry in Brazil and worldwide to help ensure a successful transition to these higher animal welfare production systems through farm tours, technical workshops on cage-free systems and the exchange of best practices.
Casa Santa Luzia joins the growing list of supermarkets in Brazil, including the four largest, that have committed to selling exclusively cage-free eggs in the country: Carrefour, Walmart (Grupo Big), GPA and Cencosud.
BRUSSELS—At an online event on the revision of the EU Environmental Crime Directive—organised in collaboration with MEPs for Wildlife—Humane Society International/Europe and International Fund for Animal Welfare issued a call for wildlife crime to be recognised as a serious criminal activity.
Dr. Joanna Swabe, senior director of public affairs for HSI/Europe, said:
“Tragically, wildlife trafficking is often seen as a low-risk and highly profitable activity which makes it highly attractive to transnational organised crime networks, especially those with smuggling capabilities. Many law enforcement agencies treat wildlife trafficking and other forms of wildlife crime as a low priority and many EU Member States still only invoke relatively weak penalties. In its EU Biodiversity Strategy, the European Commission committed to reviewing the current Environmental Crime Directive. It is high time that wildlife crime is recognised as a serious criminal activity that should be heavily penalised.”
Eleonora Panella, senior campaigner at IFAW EU, added:
“It is vital that there is far better cooperation between EU Member States when it comes to tackling transnational crimes, particularly when environmental crimes, specifically wildlife trafficking, converge with other forms of organised crime, such as money-laundering, narcotics and terrorism. Wildlife crime is highly damaging to biodiversity and the survival of species, yet criminals regard illegal wildlife trade as being relatively low-risk and high income generating because of the lack of severe penalties and low chances of being apprehended or prosecuted. The European Commission needs to take action to make sure that wildlife crime does not pay.”
The event, which was hosted by Belgian MEP Hilde Vautmans and included high-level speakers, such as Catherine De Bolle, executive director of Europol and Jorge Rios, chief of the United Nation’s Office on Drugs and Crime Global Programme for Combating Wildlife and Forest Crime, considered the issue of whether wildlife crime should be recognised as a serious criminal activity that should be heavily penalised, especially in the context of transnational organised crime.
Other panelists included:
Wouter van Ballegooij, legal and policy officer on criminal law for the Commission’s Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers
Francesca Carlsson, legal officer for the European Environmental Bureau
Daan van Uhm, criminologist for the Willem Pompe Institute for Criminal Law and Criminology, Utrecht University
Mário Kern and Ondrej Koporec, Department for Detection of Hazardous Substances and Environmental Crime, Criminal Police Bureau, Slovakia
José Antonio Alfaro Moreno, team leader for the European Serious and Organised Crime Centre, EU Organised Crime Unit, Europol
Real fur has no place in modern luxury fashion; the future is fur-free.
Humane Society International / United Kingdom
RT-Images/iStock.com
LONDON—Prime Minister Boris Johnson has received a letter from eight of Britain’s top fur-free fashion designers and retailers, urging him to make the UK the first country in the world to ban fur sales.
Designers Stella McCartney, Vivienne Westwood, Katharine Hamnett, ERDEM, Shrimps, Christopher Raeburn and Helen Moore plus luxury fashion department store Selfridges are backing Humane Society International’s #FurFreeBritain campaign and say that they are proud to support the fur-free movement.
Fur farming was banned in Britain almost two decades ago in 2003 as it was deemed too cruel an industry to support. But since then, Britain has imported more than £800 million worth of fur from countries including Finland, China, France and Poland, where animals suffer miserable lives on fur farms, and from North America where animals such as coyotes are also cruelly trapped in the wild using leg hold traps banned in the UK.
Despite animal fur still being imported into the country, the number of British designers and retailers rejecting real fur continues to grow. Not only does the use of real fur contradict the ethical trajectory of many fashion companies, but it reflects consumer sentiment over many years, with a recent poll showing 93% of British citizens reject the wearing of real fur.
The designers’ letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson reads: “fashion, driven by consumers and enabled by innovation, is evolving to make animal fur obsolete, as more and more luxury fashion designers and high street retailers eliminate it from their collections. Our fur-free policies are informed by the beliefs and expectations of the majority of UK consumers, who reject animal fur on ethical grounds. We are proud to support the growing fur-free movement as we know that the majority of British consumers want fashion items without fur. We acknowledge and welcome Humane Society International’s #FurFreeBritain campaign.”
Recent years have seen a tremendous growth in the number of fashion designers dropping real animal fur from their collections. Some of the world’s best-known fashion labels that have adopted fur-free policies include Armani, Hugo Boss, Prada Group (Prada, Miu Miu, Church’s), Burberry, Versace, Gucci, Chanel, Coach, Donna Karan, Michael Kors, Jimmy Choo, Diane von Furstenberg, Columbia Sportswear, Farfetch, Net-a-Porter, Timberland, The North Face, Zara, Nordstrom, Macy’s and Bloomindale’s.
Claire Bass, executive director of Humane Society International/UK, says: “By proudly flying the flag for fur free fashion, these iconic British fashion designers have their finger on the pulse. They refuse to put cruelty on the catwalk because they know there is nothing glamorous about mentally deprived foxes, anally electrocuted raccoon dogs, COVID-19 infected mink and wild trapped coyotes shot in the head. The vast majority of British consumers reject fur, and as the revolting cruelty of fur is exposed, a global decline in demand for fur fashion has sent this industry into a downward spiral. Killing animals for fashion does not reflect brand Britain, even her Majesty the Queen has stopped buying new fur. So it’s time for our government to consign the fur trade to the history books where it belongs and ban the sale of fur.”
Daniella Vega, director of sustainability at Selfridges, says: “As a luxury fashion retailer we’re proud of our long-standing no fur policy which has been in place for more than fifteen years. Our customers care about animal welfare and we are committed to providing ethical and sustainable products. There are many alternative materials for brands and designers to use; the future is fur-free and we support a ban on the sale of fur in the UK.”
Helen Moore, founder and director of Helen Moore, says: “We’re a British business dedicated to designing and making gorgeous luxury faux fur products in the Devon countryside. We pride ourselves on producing affordable luxury clothing and homewares without compromising our ethics, that’s why we will never use real animal fur. We believe that it is unjust and unnecessary to cause suffering to animals just so their fur can be used in fashion. We’re delighted to see more and more designers and retailers around the globe are turning their backs on real animal fur and opting for beautiful luxury alternatives instead. We are proud to support Humane Society International/UK’s Fur Free Britain campaign and we urge Prime Minister Boris Johnson to ban the sale of real animal fur”.
Fur Facts:
More than 1,500 brands have signed up to the Fur Free Retailer scheme. The most recent brand to do so was adidas, joining the likes of H&M, Jack Wolfskin, Lacoste, Mango, Marks & Spencer, Mulberry, Next, The North Face and Zara.
More than 100 million animals are killed for their fur every year worldwide including mink, fox, raccoon dog, chinchilla and rabbit – that’s equal to three animals dying every second, just for fur.
Fur farming has been banned across the UK since 2003, and has been banned and/or is in the process of being phased-out in Austria, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Czech Republic, Croatia, Macedonia, the Netherlands, Norway, Luxembourg, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia. Most recently the government in Hungary declared a ban on the farming of animals for fur including mink and foxes, France committed to phase out mink farms by 2025, and the Irish government made a commitment to bring forward legislation in 2021.
Bulgaria, Estonia, Lithuania, Montenegro, Poland and Ukraine are also presently considering bans on fur farming, and in Finland the majority party of the coalition government just announced its support for a ban on fur farms.
In the United States, California became the first US state to ban fur sales in 2019 following similar bans in cities including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Berkeley and West Hollywood. Legislators in Rhode Island, Oregon, Connecticut, Hawaii, New York and Massachusetts have introduced fur sales ban proposals. A bill introduced in Washington State would ban the production of fur.
Mink on more than 420 mink fur farms across 11 countries have been found to be infected with COVID-19, leading to mass culls in several countries. The potential for zoonotic disease spread, and for mink fur farms in particular to act as reservoirs for coronaviruses, incubating pathogens transmissible to humans, is another compelling reason for governments around the world to call time on fur, by banning farming and sales.
ENDS
Media contact: Leozette Roode, HSI/UK Media and Campaigns Manager: Lroode@hsi.org; +27 713601104
Campaigners report multiple violations to Chinese authorities incl. lack of COVID-19 disease control despite transmission risks
Humane Society International / United Kingdom
Raccoon dogs and foxes intensively farmed for fur in Asia, filmed November-December 2020.
LONDON—Disturbing video evidence of extreme animal suffering on multiple fur farms in China has been released by Humane Society International as part of its #FurFreeBritain campaign calling on the UK government to ban the sale of fur imported from countries overseas including China, Finland, Poland and Italy. In 2019 the UK imported £55,928,562 of fur from other countries despite having banned fur farming on animal cruelty grounds 20 years ago, a double standard that HSI hopes to see an end.
The investigations took place at 13 fur farms between November 2020 – December 2020 and reveal breaches of many of China’s fur farming regulations on animal housing, welfare, slaughter and epidemic control, with a disturbing admission from one farmer that the meat from slaughtered fur animals is being sold to local restaurants for human consumption by unsuspecting diners. On another farm, raccoon dogs were filmed being so ineptly electrocuted that experts say they will have been rendered paralysed but still conscious while experiencing a slow, agonising death from cardiac arrest. Rows of foxes were also filmed repetitively spinning and pacing in their tiny, barren, wire cages, the classic symptoms of mental decline from environmental deprivation.
Claire Bass, executive director of Humane Society International/UK, said: “This is the sickening reality of life and death for animals on fur farms, a million miles from the glamorous image the fur trade tries to portray. It is heartbreaking to know that the first and only time these raccoon dogs see the world outside of their cage is the moment they are wrenched from it with the agony of a high voltage electric shock paralysing their bodies. In addition to the cramped conditions, our investigators also witnessed an almost total lack of disease control and health protection measures on fur farms, which is extremely worrying considering that mink, raccoon dogs and foxes are all capable of contracting coronaviruses. The UK imports millions of pounds worth of fur from China as well as many other countries, and there is absolutely nothing to stop fur from farms just like those we filmed at from being sold in UK shops and webstores.”
On several fur farms, raccoon dogs were seen being electrocuted using a double-spiked lance attached to a high voltage battery. One by one the animals are seen stabbed with the lance in random parts of the body, delivering an agonising electric shock that paralyses but doesn’t instantly kill them because the incorrect method used doesn’t pass through the brain.
Professor Alastair MacMillan, HSI’s veterinary adviser, said: “The animals in this video are being subjected to violent and chaotic electrocution in the body and not in the brain, which means they are highly likely to have experienced several minutes of extreme physical pain and suffering, like heart attack symptoms. Instead of instant death, they are likely to have been immobilised by the electric shocks but remain conscious and feel the intense pain of electrocution.”
Despite HSI’s investigation taking place during the global pandemic, none of the fur farms followed basic biosecurity measures, with disease control regulations routinely ignored. Contrary to Chinese regulations, none of the farms had disinfection stations at entry and exit points, and visitors were allowed to come and go without being asked to observe any COVID-19 safety precautions. In light of at least 422 outbreaks of COVID-19 on 289 mink fur farms in 11 different countries in Europe and North America since April 2020, and raccoon dogs and foxes also being capable of contracting coronaviruses, the lack of adherence to safety measures is extremely concerning. HSI has provided its investigation evidence to the Chinese authorities, both in Beijing and in London.
China is home to the largest fur producing industry in the world, rearing 14 million foxes, 13.5 million raccoon dogs and 11.6 million mink in 2019 including for export overseas to countries including the United Kingdom. In 2019 the UK imported £5.3 million of fur from China alone, and over the past five years (for which full HMRC data is available 2015 – 2019) the UK imported £25.5 million of fur from China. The top five fur exporting countries to the UK in 2019 were Italy, France, China, Turkey and the United States.
Senior government insiders recently confirmed that a fur import ban is “definitely” coming down the line, citing links between mink farms and the spread of COVID-19, as well as the cruel conditions on farms.
Despite the horrific cruelty found at these particular farms, ample evidence demonstrates that animal suffering is an inherent consequence of the global fur industry regardless of the country. HSI’s Claire Bass said: “Although this investigation took place in China, similarly distressing scenes of mentally ill animals being kept in small, barren, factory-farm style cages can also be seen in fur farms across Europe and North America. Factory farming animals for fur inherently results in appalling suffering and an unacceptable public health risk. The UK Government can’t close fur farms overseas, of course, but it can stop the UK providing a market for fur, so we welcome signs that the government is serious about banning fur sales. Such a ban would send a clear message that we won’t be trading in animal cruelty for the sake of frivolous, outdated and unnecessary fashion accessories.”
Recent exposés on fur farms around the world include:
POLAND: Cannibalism, self-aggression, open wounds and paralysis on mink fur farm in Poland. (Open Cages, Sept 2020). Foxes abandoned and left to starve to death on a fur farm, even cannibalising each other. (Open Cages, Oct 2020)
FRANCE: Graphic animal suffering including mink exhibiting mentally disturbed stereotypical behaviour, mink with injured eyes and tails, animals with paralysed and even necrotic legs, and skin diseases. (One Voice, Aug 2020)
NETHERLANDS: Mink being roughly yanked out of their cages by the tail or hind leg, and thrown from a distance into the mobile gas chamber, in breach of EU regulations. (Animal Rights, Nov 2020)
ITALY: Widespread violations of SARS-CoV-2 biosecurity measures on mink fur farms. (LAV, Nov 2020)
FINLAND: Dead mink and foxes, animals suffering from untreated wounds including a live mink whose head was partially cannibalised by cage mates. (HSI and Oikeutta eläimille, Oct 2019)
CANADA: A mink farm in Ontario has been charged with 14 counts of animal cruelty following a year-long investigation that documented animals with open, untreated wounds and infections. (LCA, May 2018)
Humane Society International is calling on the UK government to end the double standard of allowing the sale of fur from overseas despite the UK having banned fur farming nearly two decades ago. A YouGov poll shows that 93% of Brits refuse to wear fur and 72% support a fur sales ban.
Media contact: Wendy Higgins, director of international media: whiggins@hsi.org
Campaigners report multiple violations to Chinese authorities including lack of COVID-19 biosecurity measures despite transmission risks
Humane Society International
Raccoon dogs and foxes intensively farmed for fur in Asia, filmed November-December 2020.
WASHINGTON— Disturbing video evidence of extreme animal suffering on multiple fur farms in China has been released by Humane Society International as part of its global campaign to end the fur trade and expose the suffering of animals on fur farms around the world. Every year in the United States, millions of animals are bred on fur factory farms or caught in cruel traps in the wild. China is the top producer of fur in the world and the number one exporter of fur apparel into the U.S.
The investigations took place at 13 fur farms between November and December last year. They reveal breaches of many of China’s fur farming regulations on animal housing, welfare, slaughter and epidemic control, with a disturbing admission from one farmer that the meat from slaughtered fur animals is being sold to local restaurants for human consumption by unsuspecting diners. On another farm, raccoon dogs were filmed being so ineptly electrocuted that experts say they will have been rendered paralyzed but still conscious while experiencing slow, agonizing deaths from cardiac arrest. Foxes in rows of cages were also filmed repetitively spinning and pacing in their tiny, barren, wire cages, the classic symptoms of mental decline from environmental deprivation.
“Animals on fur farms live in a world of constant fear and suffering, and this latest investigation is further evidence of that,” said Kitty Block, CEO and president of the Humane Society of the United States and president of Humane Society International. “It’s hard to imagine that anyone still stands by this cruelty in the name of fashion. There is nothing glamorous about electrocuting animals to death. Fur farms have no place in a modern society, and it is essential that we end the fur trade for good.”
On several fur farms, raccoon dogs were seen being electrocuted using a double-spiked lance attached to a high voltage battery. One by one the animals are seen being stabbed with the lance in random parts of the body, delivering an agonizing electric shock that paralyzes but doesn’t instantly kill them because this incorrect method doesn’t pass electricity through the brain.
“The animals in this video are being subjected to violent and chaotic electrocution in the body and not in the brain, which means they are highly likely to have experienced several minutes of extreme physical pain and suffering, like heart attack symptoms,” said Professor Alastair MacMillan, HSI’s veterinary adviser. “Instead of instant death, they are likely to have been immobilized by the electric shocks but remain conscious and feel the intense pain of electrocution.”
Despite HSI’s investigation taking place during the global pandemic, none of the fur farms followed basic biosecurity measures, with disease control regulations routinely ignored. Contrary to Chinese regulations, none of the farms had disinfecting stations at entry and exit points, and visitors were allowed to come and go without being asked to observe any COVID-19 safety precautions. In light of outbreaks of COVID-19 on at least 422 mink fur farms in 11 different countries in Europe and North America, and raccoon dogs and foxes also being capable of contracting coronaviruses, the lack of adherence to safety measures is extremely concerning. HSI has provided its investigation evidence to the Chinese authorities, both in Beijing and in London.
China is home to the largest fur producing industry in the world, rearing 14 million foxes, 13.5 million raccoon dogs and 11.6 million mink in 2019. In 2020, the U.S. imported $89 million worth of fur apparel, including $16 million from China – a significant drop from 2019 when the U.S. imported $145 million of fur apparel, including $33 million from China.
Despite the horrific cruelty found at these particular farms, ample evidence demonstrates that animal suffering is an inherent consequence of the global fur industry regardless of the country.
“Sadly, fur farms in the United States are just as unregulated as the ones found in this investigation with many of the same standards like barren cages and death by electrocution,” said PJ Smith, fashion policy director for the Humane Society of the United States. “The fur industry has done everything possible to shield public eyes from the harsh realities behind a fur-trimmed coat, and in the age of transparency, it’s no wonder the industry is on steady decline. Now is the time to end the trade for good.”
Humane Society International is calling on governments around the world to ban fur farming and end the fur trade. A 2020 Research Co. poll shows that 71% of Americans oppose killing animals for fur.
