Region: Global

Yves Salomon, Moncler & Max Mara sales staff filmed at Harrods’ fur salon provide misleading information about conditions on factory fur farms

Humane Society International / United Kingdom

Kristo Muurimaa/Oikeutta eläimille

LONDON—Sales staff representing global designers Yves Salomon, Moncler and Max Mara in the fur salon at London’s Harrods department store, provided misleading information about conditions for animals on fur farms to a secret shopper filming for animal protection charity Humane Society International/UK. Sales staff for the fashion companies—all wearing Harrods-branded name badges—made misleading claims about the deprived environment in which caged animals are kept, and the way they are killed, when questioned about farmed fox fur from Finland.

The sales rep for Yves Salomon falsely claimed that foxes on fur farms are not kept in cages, telling the undercover customer that they are kept in “their own private space” in “separate rooms” “exactly” like Battersea (Dogs and Cats Home). The customer was repeatedly told that foxes are not kept in a cage and even that “they have enough space to play and everything”. In truth, the animals are confined in small, barren, wire factory-farm style cages one-metre squared. These pitiful conditions were exposed this week in HSI’s undercover investigation at three Finnish fox fur farms that showed animals in cages barely longer than their body length, nose to tail. Many of the foxes also suffered with deformed feet and diseased eyes.

Another Yves Salomon sales rep at Harrods gave HSI/UK’s undercover shopper the false assurance that before the animals are killed “they put them down with an injection” so that “they are literally put to sleep” when in truth foxes (and raccoon dogs) are anally electrocuted without any anaesthetic. When our shopper expressed concern about some videos she had seen of animals suffering in the fur trade she was told ‘it’s only propaganda, madam’.

Moncler’s sales assistant made the astonishing implication that its Finnish fox fur was just a by-product, saying “we take our fur from animals who were already taken for other purposes, like for example meat or something else”, despite the breeding of foxes for human consumption being illegal in the EU.

Humane Society International/UK which leads the #FurFreeBritain campaign for a UK fur sales ban, and Finnish animal campaigners Oikeutta Eläimille, visited three fur farms in the Ostrobothnia region of Finland, a country that has exported more than £11million of fur to the UK since 2000 despite the same fur farm cruelty being banned in the UK. Photos and video can be downloaded here. Filming took place in October 2021.

Claire Bass, executive director of Humane Society International/UK, who visited the fur farms, said: “It’s hardly a surprise that staff in Harrods don’t want to describe the grim reality of life for animals on fur farms, because it would surely leave their customers horrified. The week before speaking to five Harrods’ sales assistants who all creatively cloaked the cruelty of the fur trade, I visited several supposedly ‘high welfare’ Finnish fur farms and come face to face with the abject misery and suffering of thousands of foxes locked up in barren metre-squared battery cages their whole lives. Before Christmas they will all have been killed by anal electrocution, and the luxury lies of fur trade PR spin will market their lifeless fur to consumers.

The claim that fur farms are ‘like Battersea’, a rescue home for pets, was a whole new level of delusion. Fur farms and Battersea are like night and day in animal welfare terms. A Harrods manager’s claims that their fur is ‘ethically and sustainably sourced’ bears no scrutiny whatsoever. There is nothing ethical about any fur farming, certified or otherwise. We urge Harrods to stop peddling lies and stop selling fur cruelty. And the sooner the UK government bans the import and sale of animal fur, the sooner we can stop bankrolling this brutal industry.”

Max Mara’s sales staff told the investigator that its fur is certified by the fur trade’s SAGA Furs** assurance scheme which, they claimed, means “those ones are not cruel, not made in a cruel way…. It means that the animals don’t suffer.” However, at two SAGA Furs certified fox fur farms visited by HSI/UK, foxes with infected eyes and missing ears were filmed in woefully cramped cages, each one empty but for a single piece of wood or bone which passes for “enrichment”.

Fox fur originating from Finland is used by brands including Fendi, Moncler, Yves Salomon, Woolrich, Herno and Max Mara, and is seen in stores including Harrods, Harvey Nichols and Flannels.

Finland is the biggest producer of fox fur in Europe and the second biggest in the world, exporting millions of pounds worth of fur around the world including to the UK. Since banning fur farming in 2000 on ethical grounds, the UK has imported more than £850million of fur from a range of countries including France, Italy, Poland, China and the United States. Through its #FurFreeBritain campaign, HSI/UK is urging the government to end this by banning UK fur imports and sales, a move supported by 72% of the British public. The government is currently considering a fur sales ban and recently held a public consultation which received 30,000 responses.

HSI/UK has written to Harrods.

Please sign and share HSI’s petition calling for a UK fur sales ban: www.hsi.org/FurFreeBritain

Facts: 

  • More than 100 million animals are killed for their fur every year worldwide: foxes, raccoon dogs, mink, chinchilla and rabbits on fur farms and coyotes, beavers and other animals trapped in the wild—that’s equivalent to three animals dying every second, just for their fur. Finland rears and kills between 1-2 million foxes every year.
  • Fur farming has been banned and/or is in the process of being phased out in 15 European countries including Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway, Slovakia, and the United Kingdom. The Republic of Ireland’s cabinet has approved legislation that would see fur farming banned from 2022; and legislation to ban mink farming is currently being debated by politicians in France. Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Spain and Ukraine are also considering proposals to ban fur farming.
  • HSI/UK’s #FurFreeBritain campaign for a UK fur sales ban is supported by NGOs including the RSPCA, PETA UK and Four Paws UK, as well as celebrities including Sir Paul McCartney, Stella McCartney, Dame Judi Dench, Ricky Gervais and Leona Lewis.
  • In 2021 Israel became the first country in the world to ban the sale of fur. Fur sales are also banned in the U.S. state of California, the cities of Los Angeles, San Francisco, Berkeley and West Hollywood, and the towns of Weston and Wellesley in Massachusetts and Ann Arbor in Michigan.
  • Global fashion designers and retailers who have dropped fur cruelty include Canada Goose, Oscar de la Renta, Valentino, Gucci, Burberry, Versace, Chanel and Prada.
  • A 2020 YouGov opinion poll reveals that 79% of Brits most closely associate fashion brands selling fur with negative words: ‘unethical’, ‘outdated’, ‘cruel’ and ‘out of touch’.
  • Fur comes with a hefty environmental price tag. All fabrics have an eco-footprint, but when compared to others, fur scores badly in terms of the C02 emissions associated with keeping and feeding tens of thousands of carnivorous animals on a farm, the manure runoff into lakes and rivers, and the cocktail of toxic chemicals such as chromium and formaldehyde used to stop the fur and skin from rotting.

Media contact: Wendy Higgins: whiggins@hsi.org

Notes

*Faces have been pixilated and voices altered to protect the sales staffs’ identity.
**SAGA is the fur trade’s certification scheme which claims SAGA certified farms have good animal health and welfare and provide safe and stimulating housing, as well as good farm hygiene and feed that fulfils nutritional needs in each production phase.
Reference in this article to any specific commercial product or service, or the use of any brand, trade, firm or corporation name is for the information of the public only.  Such reference does not constitute or imply endorsement by Humane Society International or any its affiliates of the product or service, or its producer or provider, and should not be construed or relied upon, under any circumstances, by implication or otherwise, as investment advice. The views and opinions of interviewees expressed in the article do not necessarily state or accurately reflect those of Humane Society International or any of its affiliates. Links and access by hypertext to other websites is provided as a convenience only and does not indicate or imply any endorsement with respect to any of the content on such website nor any of the views expressed thereon.

Humane Society International / Europe

HSI

EUROPE—Humane Society International/Europe is launching an online campaign in the week before Black Friday, 26 November, in Italy, Germany, Poland and Romania, reminding shoppers that fur clothing comes at the cost of extreme cruelty to animals. The organization is asking fashion lovers, designers, retailers and influencers to go fur-free since fashion shouldn’t come at the cost of animal life.

Black Friday, the popular shopping pinnacle, is also an occasion for animal welfare organizations and animal lovers worldwide to draw public attention to the plight of animals kept in farms only for their fur. The Fur-Free Friday movement, which started in the U.S. in the 1980s and went global in the first decade of the 21st century, is now one of the largest international days of action and brings together advocates in hundreds of locations around the world.

“Our Fur-Free Friday campaign aims to bring attention to our daily choices, since cruelty towards animals is often a direct consequence of the choices we make. Small cages, scandalous living conditions, and the cruel death of animals who feel pain, fear, frustration– all this is due to the fashion industry’s demand for animal fur. It’s time to change that. Don’t let this holiday shopping season be deadly for animals. Show designers and retailers you care about animals by leaving fur on the shelves and shopping with compassion instead,” says Pankaj KC, campaigns director for HSI/Europe.

Fur-Free Friday also coincides with the period of the year when the short and miserable lives of millions of animals kept on fur farms will end as they are skinned for their fur. Mink are usually killed by being placed in a mobile gas chamber, while foxes and raccoon dogs are usually killed by anal electrocution. The only animals who will be left alive on fur farms are those individuals who have been selected as breeding stock.

Worldwide, around 100 million animals, such as mink, foxes, raccoon dogs and chinchillas, are slaughtered each year for fashion. More than a third of these animals are bred and killed in farms around Europe. Although fur coats are going out of fashion in Europe, real fur trim is increasingly being used for hooded jackets, hat pompoms, gloves, shoes and other clothing and accessories. It’s estimated that as many as half of all animals raised for their fur are killed for fur trim.

Public discontent with the cruel practices in fur farms has prompted the governments of 15 European countries to impose a ban on farms where animals are kept only for their fur. The spread of COVID-19 and the discovered link between the virus and mink have also led to bans in countries where the industry is prevalent. Just last week the Senate in France approved a full ban on keeping wild animals in fur farms.

Finnish and SAGA-assured fox fur is used by global designers and retailers including Harrods and Fendi

Humane Society International / United Kingdom

Fox on a fur farm
HSI

LONDON—An undercover investigation by Humane Society International/UK and Finnish animal campaigners Oikeutta Eläimille reveals deplorable conditions and distressing animal suffering on fur farms in Finland, a country that has exported more than £11million of fur to the UK since 2000 despite the same fur farm cruelty being banned in the UK. Fox fur originating from Finland is used by brands including Fendi, Moncler, Yves Salomon, Woolrich, Herno and Max Mara, and is seen in stores including Harrods, Harvey Nichols and Flannels.

The fur trade claims that almost 100% of fox and raccoon dog fur farms in Finland, and 96% of mink fur farms, are certified by the fur trade’s SAGA Furs* assurance scheme promising “the highest level of animal welfare”. So, Humane Society International/UK, which leads the #FurFreeBritain campaign for a UK fur sales ban, took high-profile media veterinarian and animal welfare campaigner Dr Marc Abraham OBE to see for himself the grim reality for animals behind the fur trade’s glossy marketing. They visited three fur farms in the Ostrobothnia region of Finland, two of which are SAGA certified, and they found foxes in small, barren cages suffering with deformed feet, diseased eyes, missing ears and obesity.

Finland is the biggest producer of fox fur in Europe and the second biggest in the world, exporting millions of pounds worth of fur around the world including to the UK. Since banning fur farming in 2000 on ethical grounds, the UK has imported more than £850million of fur from a range of countries including France, Italy, Poland, China and the United States, with more than £11million worth of fur from Finland alone. Through its #FurFreeBritain campaign, HSI/UK is urging the government to end this by banning UK fur imports and sales, a move supported by 72% of the British public. The government is currently considering a fur sales ban and recently held a public consultation which received 30,000 responses.

Claire Bass, executive director of Humane Society International/UK, who visited the fur farms, said: “Fur trade buzzwords about welfare ring incredibly hollow when you are staring into the eyes of an animal tormented by a life of deprivation for a frivolous fashion item that nobody needs. Most fashion-forward designers have gone fur-free because of the indefensible cruelty. But to those designers who still use fur, and to the UK government that still allows British businesses to trade in fur, our message is clear – it’s time to stop being complicit in this cruelty. It’s a clear double standard that the UK is outsourcing to countries like Finland the very same fur farm cruelty we banned here two decades ago.”

Veterinarian Dr Marc Abraham OBE said: “As a vet and campaigner who has dedicated my life to animal welfare, it was not only truly depressing to seeing the appalling state of these foxes, but still worse to know that the UK is 100% complicit in this legal fur trade cruelty. What I witnessed first-hand was shameful from an animal welfare point of view, row upon row of pitiful animals imprisoned in tiny cages, barely larger than the length of their body from nose to tail. Many of the foxes we saw had painfully swollen eyes, deformed feet with overgrown claws from having to stand on the wire floor, as well as poor body condition and obesity, not to mention self-mutilation, the clear sign of psychological trauma they must suffer as wild animals without appropriate enrichment.

It must be mental torture being denied the freedom to run and exercise in their natural woodland environment that they can clearly view surrounding their cages, which their instincts are telling them to explore 24/7, but to which, tragically, they will never have access during their short lives. The UK government assured us that after Brexit it would consider what could be done in terms of a UK fur sales ban, and observing such high levels of animal suffering on those Finnish fur farms, leaves me in no doubt that right now is the time to make good on that promise.”

Two of the farms held obese “monster foxes” bred with huge pelts and rolls of fat folded over their body in order to increase the volume of fur that can be harvested. In 2017 the fur trade stated it would put an end to the breeding of oversized foxes, and yet this and previous investigations continue to expose their existence.

Kristo Muurimaa from Finnish animal protection group Oikeutta Eläimille, said: “I have visited more than a hundred fur farms across Finland and every single one is as horrific as the last. To have a respected and decorated veterinarian come to Finland to witness first-hand the animal suffering, is really important in exposing the truth about the fur industry.”

Facts: 

  • More than 100 million animals are killed for their fur every year worldwide, on fur farms and trapped in the wild—that’s equivalent to three animals dying every second, just for their fur. Finland rears and kills between 1-2 million foxes every year.
  • Fur farming is not only cruel to animals, it also presents risks to public health. Outbreaks of COVID-19 have been documented on 447 mink fur farms in 12 different countries in Europe and North America since April 2020. A June letter signed by over 60 veterinarians and virologists highlighted the potential for fur farms to act as reservoirs for the virus and the potential for fur farms to create future zoonotic diseases
  • The World Organisation for Animal Health’s (OIE) ad hoc Group on COVID-19 and Safe Trade in Animals and Animal Products has concluded that raw mink skins cannot be considered a safe commodity for international trade.
  • Fur farming has been banned and/or is in the process of being phased out in Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Northern Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and the United Kingdom. The Republic of Ireland’s cabinet has approved legislation that would see fur farming banned effective from 2022; and legislation to ban mink farming is currently being debated by politicians in France, Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Spain and Ukraine.
  • Earlier this year Israel became the first country in the world to ban the sale of fur.
  • 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. The towns of Weston and Wellesley in Massachusetts and the city of Ann Arbor in Michigan have also recently banned fur sales, and more US cities and states are looking to follow suit.
  • An increasing number of fashion designers and retailers are dropping fur cruelty. In the last few years alone Canada Goose, Oscar de la Renta, Valentino, Gucci, Burberry, Versace, Chanel, Prada and other high-profile brands have announced fur-free policies. In addition, major online fashion retail platforms Net-A-Porter, Farfetch and MyTheresa have adopted fur-free policies.
  • Fur comes with a hefty environmental price tag. Whilst all materials have some eco-footprint, when compared to other textiles, fur takes a significant toll in terms of the C02 emissions associated with keeping and feeding tens of thousands of carnivorous animals on a farm, the manure runoff into lakes and rivers, and the cocktail of toxic and carcinogenic chemicals such as chromium and formaldehyde used to preserve the fur and skin to stop it from rotting.

Download Photos and Videos from the Fur Farm

Download a Video of Marc Abraham on the Fur Farm

Media Contact: Wendy Higgins: whiggins@hsi.org

*SAGA is a fur certification scheme which claims SAGA certified farms have good animal health and welfare and provide safe and stimulating housing. As well as good farm hygiene and feed that fulfils nutritional needs in each production phase.

Reference in this article to any specific commercial product or service, or the use of any brand, trade, firm or corporation name is for the information of the public only.  Such reference does not constitute or imply endorsement by Humane Society International or any its affiliates of the product or service, or its producer or provider, and should not be construed or relied upon, under any circumstances, by implication or otherwise, as investment advice. The views and opinions of interviewees expressed in the article do not necessarily state or accurately reflect those of Humane Society International or any of its affiliates. Links and access by hypertext to other websites is provided as a convenience only and does not indicate or imply any endorsement with respect to any of the content on such website nor any of the views expressed thereon.

Scientists, industry leaders and other specialists discussed why an Action Plan for the active phase-out of the use of animals in experiments is needed and provided examples of existing tools and procedures, which could be soon implemented by the European Commission

Humane Society International / Europe

Luchschen/istock

BRUSSELS— The Intergroup on the Welfare and Conservation of Animals organised an extraordinary meeting on Accelerating the transition to animal-free innovation, in partnership with Eurogroup for Animals and Humane Society International/Europe.

This special session featured a roundtable panel debate on the opportunities opened up by the European Parliament’s recently adopted resolution on an action plan to transition to animal-free innovation “with the aim of driving the active phase-out by reducing, refining and replacing procedures on live animals for scientific and regulatory purposes.”

The idea of phasing out animals used in laboratories is not new and was mentioned in Directive 2010/63 on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes. With that resolution in September, though, the EP recognised that an active, coordinated approach for reduction and, ultimately, the full replacement of animals has not been achieved. By requiring an EU-wide action plan with an ambitious timetable and list of milestones, the EP is aiming to actively drive the phase-out of animals used for all scientific purposes.

Kirsty Reid, Director of Science Policy at the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations, stressed the need for stronger collaboration and mentioned the existing good collaboration between industry and civil society, like the partnership with Humane Society International on the deletion of an obsolete animal-based safety test for some pharmaceutical products. She underscored her belief that government agencies and regulators must place more trust into innovative methods.    

One of the core ideas of the resolution is to promote new technologies capable of replacing animal models by providing data that are more relevant to human biology than animals. One of these technologies is organs-on-chips.

Thibault Honegger, CEO of The Neuro Engineering Technologies Research Institute, explained why organs-on-chips are so often described as a game-changing technology capable of better mimicking aspects of human biology than animals or simpler in vitro models. Honegger provided examples of organs-on-chips being used right now, like the Parkinson’s chip device and the one used to develop an anti-pain treatment, which are already having a direct impact on human health, in a way that could not have been achieved using animals. From his point of view, what the EC needs to include in the Action Plan is a global approach covering the entire production chain, and the enhancement of biobanks and cells databases, along with a dedicated stakeholders’ task force as in the US.

Another point underlined by the EP resolution centers on education in non-animal methods. There is little point in having the most advanced technologies in the world if very few people know how to use them. Prof. Beatriz Silva Lima, Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Lisbon, suggested that the EU, in order to foster the knowledge and use of new advanced non-animal methods in academic research, should make these methods more available to researchers because at the moment animal testing is still cheaper. So, even if there are different new advanced technologies (e.g. organoids and organs on chips), they are sometimes not affordable. Prof. Silva Lima also highlighted the need to facilitate access to human tissues and cells to foster the speedier development of human-focused models.  

Prof. Ingrid Visseren-Hamakers from the Radboud University shared her view that the European Commission, in order to ensure that this plan delivers significant reductions of animal use, improves health research and produces economic benefits, must link the Action Plan to other policy areas. Animal-free science is part of a larger set of trends including a shift in attitudes towards nonhuman animals. The EU Green Deal asks that we protect human health and the environment and to be able to do that we need new science, human-relevant science and transformative change. If we transform our society, for example using less chemicals and pesticides, changing our diets and moving towards a preventive curative system, we would need less animal testing and could proceed with the implementation of laws and policy that support a shift to non-animal methodologies.

Anja Hazekamp, President of the Intergroup, concluded by informing the audience that the Intergroup will now request a meeting with the European Commission to share the conclusions of the event and discuss views on the Parliament’s call for an Action Plan. 

ENDS 

Notes 

Agenda Accelerating the transition to animal-free innovation: Measures for an action plan to phase-out experiments on animals 

Israeli scientists recently developed a cancer drug without any animal tests by using chips with human kidney, liver and heart cells.  

‘Organs-on-chips’ represent a new market sector growing quickly at a rate of 28% per year, which means that the market size will be multiplied by 7 by 2030 according to projections.  

Contacts:

Agnese Marcon, Communications Manager, Eurogroup for Animals 

a.marcon@eurogroupforanimals.org 

+32 (0) 456 078 038 

Yavor Gechev, Communications Director, Humane Society International/Europe 

ygechev@hsi.org 

+359 (0) 88 946 8098 

Humane Society International / Africa

South Africa is the largest cosmetics market on the continent, where animal testing for cosmetics is still legal.

We can’t tackle climate crisis without cutting intensive animal farming as world’s second largest human-caused GHG emitter

Humane Society International / United Kingdom

dhughes9/iStock.com

LONDON—As COP26 prepares to reveal the final pledges focused on cutting emissions from energy, transport and other sectors, campaigners from Humane Society International, one of the largest global animal protection NGOs in the world, say the total omission of targets to reduce livestock farming and cut meat and dairy production and consumption, represents a ludicrous failure considering the sector is the world’s second largest emitter of human-induced greenhouse gases.

Stefanie McNerney, plant based solutions manager at Humane Society International, says: “Whilst there were many conversations at COP26 side events and press conferences about the urgent need for global food system reform to cut meat and dairy production and consumption, this vital climate mitigation strategy was depressingly absent from the COP26 leader negotiations. Current pledges on methane, coal, forests and transport still look set to put us way off target to limit global temperature rise, so it is a ludicrous failure to ignore the opportunity to limit one of the biggest greenhouse gas emitters in the world, animal agriculture. We need policies and targets that shift farming toward plant-based food production, and the clear lack of ambition to do so is deeply troubling. We have reached a stage in the climate crisis where so called technical solutions such as cattle feed additives are nowhere near enough to tackle emissions from this sector. The climate clock is ticking and it is well past time to move beyond these low-impact greenwashing distractions offered by Big Ag that merely perpetuate the growth of an unsustainable industry. The science is clear that that’s not an option. Will governments follow the science and plan a just transition to a more climate-resilient, plant-centric food system, or will we be waiting until the cows come home for them to stop ignoring the cow in the room?” 

Key points:

  • Despite world leaders at COP26 acknowledging that food production not only contributes to climate change, but also holds one of the keys to mitigating it, dialogues around this sector lacked ambition, with most official conversations focusing on low-impact strategies such as modifying livestock feed, tackling nitrous oxide in fertilizer and rewilding, whilst completely omitting discussion of high impact actions such as livestock reduction and diet change.
  • HSI welcomes the pledges on methane reductions and bringing an end to deforestation. However, animal agriculture is one of the largest contributors to both methane emissions and deforestation, and these issues cannot be addressed without reducing global livestock numbers and shifting to more plant-centric food production and consumption.
  • Diverting the discussion toward short-sighted mitigation tactics whilst willfully ignoring and even shooting down the topic of livestock reduction and diet change is nothing short of greenwashing by the livestock industry. Governments that are serious about climate change must address emissions from animal agriculture, and that means reducing the number of animals raised for consumption and transforming our food system to a more sustainable, resilient, plant-centric system that is just for all.
  • On the subject of missing the point, in the draft CMA decision by the COP26 president, the words ‘animal agriculture’ and ‘farming’, let alone ‘livestock reduction’ do not even feature once.
  • The other cow in the room was the cow served on the COP plates. The provision of meat on the menu at a climate conference was disappointing. The CO2equivalent labelling on all food served at the conference clearly demonstrated the very large carbon footprint of beef dishes compared to plant-based options. The juxtaposition of emissions between a beef burger weighing in at a hefty 3.3 kg CO2 e compared to a plant-based burger at just 0.2 kg CO2 e literally served up an obvious mitigation strategy on a plate—one that was a glaring omission from the COP26 negotiations.

HSI’s #TheCowInTheRoom campaign called on COP26 to acknowledge and act on the climate damaging impacts of intensive animal agriculture. The campaign has the backing of leading plant-based food companies and investors including Beyond Investing, Mosa Meat, Eat Just, Wicked Kitchen and Linda McCartney Foods, as well as celebrities such as Moby, Billie Eilish, Joaquin Phoenix, Alan Cumming, Alicia Silverstone, Mary McCartney, Leona Lewis, Martin Freeman, Lily Cole and Stephen Fry. Earlier this week the campaigners handed in a petition of more than 70,000 signatures with campaign partners ProVeg International and Four Paws.

ENDS

Media Contact: Wendy Higgins: whiggins@hsi.org

Landmark decision will protect public health and save hundreds of thousands of animals annually from a lifetime of misery

Humane Society International / Canada

Jillian Cooper/iStock.com Wild mink

MONTREAL—In the wake of multiple outbreaks of COVID-19 on BC fur farms—and a recent incident in which infectious mink escaped from a quarantined facility—the provincial government has announced a phase-out of mink farming by April 2023. In the past 18 months, hundreds of COVID-19 outbreaks have occurred on mink farms globally, with dangerous mutations of the virus occurring in some facilities and being transmitted back into the human population.

Rebecca Aldworth, executive director of HSI/Canada stated: “It is the abysmal conditions and horrendous suffering on factory fur farms that make these facilities incubators for COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses. Mink farming is exceptionally cruel, intensively confining highly intelligent, semi-aquatic wild animals and denying them their most basic of needs. The COVID-19 pandemic has redefined our relationship with animals and our environment, calling into question many formerly accepted practices. In protecting both people and mink, the BC government has shown tremendous leadership and set an important example for the rest of the nation to follow.”

Mink on almost 450 mink fur farms across 12 countries (including 10 EU member states) have been found infected with COVID-19, leading to mass culls of millions of minks. British Columbia is the latest member of a growing list of nations and territories— including the UK, Luxembourg, Slovakia and the Netherlands—that have taken decisive action to stop fur farming within their jurisdiction due to serious public health and animal welfare concerns.

Facts:

  • The BC provincial health officer identified mink farming as a “health hazard” that “endangers public health,” noting that “the susceptibility of mink to infection with SARS-CoV-2 creates a risk of development of variants of concern which pose a threat to public health and could undermine the efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccination program in British Columbia.”[1]
  • Mink escape into the wild from fur factory farms at notoriously high rates. In 2020 (the last year for which data is available), over 23,000 mink died prematurely or escaped from BC fur farms.
  • Escaped, infected mink are capable of transmitting COVID-19 to wild mink, and likely to other susceptible species of wildlife, which can establish disease reservoirs in the wild, risking further virus mutation and potentially catastrophic spillover events.
  • Fur farming has been banned and/or is in the process of being phased-out in numerous European nations such as Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Estonia, Hungary, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and the United Kingdom. The Republic of Ireland’s cabinet has approved legislation that would see fur farming banned effective from 2022; and legislation to ban mink farming is currently being debated by politicians in France, Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Spain and Ukraine.

Timeline: 

ENDS

Media Contact: Michael Bernard: 613-371-5170; mbernard@hsi.org

YouGov poll shows over half of Brits support government-led campaign promoting plant-based foods. If Europe is to achieve its climate goals by 2030, it must reduce meat consumption and incentivise the consumption of plant-rich diets.

Humane Society International / United Kingdom

HSI

GLASGOW—Some of the world’s biggest plant-based food manufacturers and investors including Beyond Investing, Eat Just, Linda McCartney Foods and Wicked Kitchen have added their voice to #TheCowInTheRoom campaign at the COP26 climate change conference, calling on world leaders to stop ignoring animal agriculture in climate change mitigation policies and targets. The letter comes as a new YouGov opinion poll shows that over half of Brits (51%) would support the UK government initiating a joint campaign with supermarkets and food service / retail companies to actively promote the benefits of plant-based foods.

In an open letter to COP26 presented at the conference by Humane Society International, together with ProVeg International and Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation, 16 companies urge world leaders to include animal agriculture, and meat and dairy reduction targets, in formal COP26 discussions. A citizen petition of over 70,000 signatures was also submitted to COP26 by the campaigners, with the backing of some of the world’s biggest celebrities including Joaquin Phoenix, Moby, Billie Eilish, Alan Cumming, Alicia Silverstone, Leona Lewis, Lily Cole and Stephen Fry.

Claire Bass, executive director of Humane Society International/UK, said from COP26: “We simply cannot afford to ignore the cow in the room any longer—the science is clear that targets to reduce meat and dairy production and consumption are crucial if we are to meet internationally agreed upon climate targets. But while there is clear consumer and corporate appetite for a plant-based shift, politicians appear to be asleep at the wheel, failing to grasp both the urgent need and multiple opportunities to catalyse the normalisation of plant-centric diets. The Methane Pledge is a prime example of this; to reduce this potent GHG we simply need fewer cows, not just technological fixes that produce slightly less burpy cows.”

The food system is responsible for 30% of the European Union’s greenhouse gas emissions, of which 17% is attributable to livestock production. Moving to more plant-rich diets could decrease the EU’s carbon footprint by 50%.

ProVeg says European meat and dairy reduction targets should be bold to achieve Europe’s climate goals. Based on leading research, ProVeg calculates that by 2040:

  • The consumption of meat needs to be reduced by 79%.
  • The consumption of milk and dairy needs to be reduced by between 74 and 83%.
  • The consumption of eggs needs to be reduced by 68%.
  • The consumption of fish and seafood needs to be reduced by 65%.

Jasmijn de Boo, vice-president at ProVeg International, comments: “The urgency of reducing our global intake of meat, fish, eggs and dairy to tackle the climate crisis must be addressed, especially now that world leaders have reached an agreement during COP26 to tackle deforestation, and set a 30% methane reduction target. We need to move towards more plant-rich diets now to save our forests and to save the planet. If Europe is to achieve its climate goals by 2030, it will have to reduce the current intake of meat by 79% and incentivise the consumption of plant-rich diets. We need to go further and show leadership in order to have a just and fair global transition to more plant-based food production and consumption.”

Dr. Ming-nan Lin from the Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation and vice superintendent of Dalin Tzu Chi General Hospital, comments: “Global leaders and the private sector must engage with faith leaders and community partners to inspire respect for all life, with compassion and love. There are clear connections between human health and planetary health. Zoonosis, vector-borne diseases, and certain non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and heart disease have inextricable links to our dietary habits. The public health benefits of a transition towards a plant-centric food system has undeniable co-benefits to the health and wellbeing of the planet as well.”

The animal agriculture industry breeds, raises and slaughters more than 88 billion land animals globally every year. The industry’s emissions—a staggering 20% of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions–are on par with those emitted by the entire global transportation sector, and yet targets and strategies to reduce meat and dairy production and consumption are absent from climate change discussions.

Scientists, too, are calling for the need to transform our global food system into one that supports and protects planetary and human health. The 107 experts who prepared the report for the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change determined with high confidence that policies operating across the food system, including policies that influence dietary choices, would enable more sustainable land-use management, result in enhanced food security and low emissions trajectories, contribute to climate change adaptation and mitigation, and improve public health.

Notes to editor:

  • Data on mentioned reduction targets can be found here.
  • Survey figures are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 1,749 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 29th – 30th October 2021. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all UK adults (aged 18+).
  • Reference in this article to any specific commercial product or service, or the use of any brand, trade, firm or corporation name is for the information of the public only, and does not constitute or imply endorsement, recommendation or approval by Humane Society International or any of its affiliates of the product or service, or its producer or provider, and should not be construed or relied upon, under any circumstances, by implication or otherwise, as investment advice. The views and opinions of interviewees expressed in the article do not necessarily state or accurately reflect those of Humane Society International or any of its affiliates.

ENDS

Media Contacts:

Animal feet, skulls, legs, ears, claws, bones, hides and full body taxidermy, including threatened and endangered species, show the pitiful results of the trophy hunting industry

Humane Society International / United States

The HSUS

WASHINGTON—A shocking undercover investigation recently conducted in Iowa by the Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society International found what can only be described as a massive garbage bin of the trophy hunting industry. A four-day event where thousands of animals—including at least 557 hunting trophies of mammals no longer wanted by the people who killed them—were sold to the highest bidders. Shelves and bins were packed with discarded trophies including threatened and endangered species like elephants and polar bears, other imperiled foreign species like giraffes and hippos, and countless trophies of American wildlife like grizzly bears, black bears and mountain lions.

Auction items included grotesque home décor such as tables and lamps made from giraffe legs and feet, tables made from African elephant feet and a juvenile giraffe taxidermy. The auction also included at least 50 rugs made from animals including black bears, grizzly bears, zebras, wolves and mountain lions. The investigator saw piles of giraffe leg bones, sets of hippo teeth and a dusty box labeled “elephant ears and skin.”

Kitty Block, president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States, said: “It is unconscionable that not only are these threatened and endangered species of wild animals killed by trophy hunters, but the souvenirs from these hunts are ultimately mothballed and sold off at a fairground full of unwanted animal body parts. This massive display of animal death is a devastating snapshot of what it looks like when species are being pushed to the brink of extinction.”

The undercover investigator learned that most of the trophies are the result of trophy hunters tiring of their collections, downsizing or dying and leaving these items to family members who don’t want them. One auction staffer said, “Realtors tell homeowners to get rid of those dead critters,” when staging their houses for sale.

Trophies at the auction include:

  • Four African elephant feet made into tables with elephant skin tops. According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, the African savanna elephant is endangered, and the African forest elephant is critically endangered. The African elephant is listed as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.
  • Two hollowed elephant feet which auction organizers suggest “would make a nice trash can.”
  • A polar bear (considered vulnerable by IUCN and listed as threatened under the ESA) with a ringed seal sold for $26,000, the highest price of the trophies sold at the auction.
  • Four giraffe legs made into a matching set coffee table and floor lamp.
  • A large cardboard box labeled “elephant ears and skin.”
  • Two giraffe skulls and three full giraffe bodies (IUCN vulnerable) including a baby promoted as “the perfect size that can go in about any room in the house,” sold for $6,200.
  • Giraffe leg bones promoted as “great for crafts.”
  • A hippo skull and two hippo (IUCN vulnerable) shoulder mounts (head, neck, shoulders). Two sets of hippo teeth.
  • Baby zebra taxidermy, six zebra skins and rugs including one from a calf, and several zebra heads for “tabletop display.”
  • Six monkeys, including a stuffed vervet holding a beer bottle.
  • Two baby and one adult baboon.
  • 49 bears including five cubs and a mother-cub pair.
  • 18 rugs made from grizzly bears or black bears.
  • Bear claws promoted as “great for jewelry or crafts.”
  • Seven bobcats, including two rugs.
  • Four wolves, including two rugs.
  • Eight mountain lions, including two rugs.

Jeffrey Flocken, president of Humane Society International, said, “It is deeply saddening to see this final stage of the trophy hunting industry where these majestic species are relegated to an auction house floor instead of fulfilling their role in their respective populations and ecosystems.”

“The United States is the world’s number one importer of hunting trophies and should move swiftly to cast off that gruesome distinction,” says Sara Amundson, president of the Humane Society Legislative Fund. “Passage of the ProTECT Act in Congress is the most decisive pathway, as it would prohibit trophies of any species listed as threatened or endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act from importation into the U.S. But the Fish and Wildlife Service should immediately revise its trophy import regulations to support the same conservation goal of ending such imports. No one’s desire for a rec room wall mount, or an elephant foot side table warrants such carnage and waste of animal life.”

Facts:

  • There are about 68,000 mature giraffes remaining in the wild, and the population is still declining, but more than 40,000 giraffe parts and products were imported into the U.S. between 2006 and 2015.
  • In October 2021, Humane Society International and the Humane Society of the United States, in coalition with another conservation organization, sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for failing to act on a 2017 petition to provide protections for giraffes under the Endangered Species Act.
  • The population of African savanna elephants decreased by at least 60% over the last 50 years, yet according to international trade data, American trophy hunters have imported over 700 trophies and 399 tusks from African elephants between 2014 and 2018.
  • Hippo populations are vulnerable; additional pressure from trophy hunters and for international commercial trade in ivory may lead to population decline, yet according to international trade data, hunting trophies and other parts from 2,500 hippos were imported into the U.S. between 2009 and 2018.
  • Nearly half a million black bears were trophy hunted in the U.S. between 2010 and 2020 in 33 states.

Photos/video of undercover investigation
YouTube video
Blog
Investigation report

Media contact: Rodi Rosensweig, 202-809-8711, rrosensweig@humanesociety.org

Humane Society International / India

CBCK-Christine/iStock.com

INDIA—With Diwali just around the corner, and spirits running high, it’s worth remembering that a festival that centers on spreading happiness should encompass the needs of our furry friends, too. In addition to expressing its support for COVID-19 precautions as suggested by the government of India, Humane Society International/India is urging everyone to celebrate a noise-free and animal-friendly Diwali.

Every year, thousands of animals and birds are left frightened, injured, and lost because of an increase in air and noise pollution associated with the holiday. Since they have a far more acute sense of hearing than us; the noise of firecrackers has a terrifying effect on animals. In addition to this, the accompanying light and smoke emitted by firecrackers adversely affects their health and well-being. As a result, animal shelters witness a tremendous increase in runaway and lost pets, who are scared, anxious, nervous, and often burned or injured.

Alokparna Sengupta, managing director of HSI/ India said, “Diwali is an exciting time for people but can also lead to extreme stress and discomfort for pets and street animals.  We urge everyone to celebrate the festival of lights as it is meant to be celebrated – with lamps, lights, sweets and delicious savouries, and not with loud firecrackers. This year, more than ever, we must consider the safety and wellness of others including the old, the young and the animals. We also strongly urge citizens to follow COVID-19 precautions and guidelines issued by the government.”

For those wondering how to ensure that animals have a safe and happy Diwali, HSI/India has some ‘sound’ advice in the form of these simple tips:

  • Keep pets indoors and in a familiar room. Pets have a heightened sense of hearing, so jolts and loud noises cause many animals to flee in search of a safe haven. Leave calming music or the television on to comfort them, if possible.
  • Keep all doors and windows closed and draw the curtains to reduce noise. Supply pets with enough food and water and ensure someone can stay at home to care for them.
  • Urge friends and neighbors to avoid igniting loud firecrackers and instead use firecrackers that emit less smoke and do not create so much noise.
  • Store fireworks safely in a closed box, somewhere cool and dry, and out of reach of pets. Do not keep fireworks containers under stairs or exposed in passages or hallways.
  • Decorate with lights, lamps and divas that are friendlier to the environment and animals (i.e., ones that give off less smoke, smell and noise.)
  • Refrain from setting firecrackers off near an animal shelter or zoo. Loud explosions can cause panic and fear, and pollution from burning firecrackers is harmful to animals’ health.
  • Take dogs for a walk during the daytime before the celebrations begin. Never walk them near where others are lighting firecrackers.
  • Consult a veterinarian if your pets are prone to acute anxiety or distress from loud noises and medicate with anti-anxiety or calmative agents if necessary, and only through a veterinary prescription. Check their availability during Diwali, ahead of time in case of an emergency.
  • Ensure pets are wearing collars and identification tags with current contact information. All pets, even those kept indoors, should always wear collars with identification tags.
  • If you feed street animals around your neighbourhood, make sure they are wearing tags labelled with their names and your phone numbers. Provide them shelter in an area where they may be safe from the firecrackers and the noise.
  • Make a first-aid kit in preparation for helping injured animals. Have a bucket full of water handy for an emergency and to place used sparklers inside.
  • Keep contact information for local municipal corporations and surrounding shelters handy and approach them immediately in case of lost pets. If you find lost pets, either take them to the address on the tag or a local animal shelter.

ENDS

Media Contact: Shambhavi Tiwari: +91-8879834125; stiwari@hsi.org

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