Region: Global

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.”

Read the full letter.

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.

Download photos and video from the investigation

ENDS

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.

Download photos and video from the investigation

ENDS

Media contacts:

Record low sea ice cover, ongoing pandemic are urgent reasons to suspend the slaughter

Humane Society International / Canada

Michael Bernard/HSI Canada

MONTREAL—In the wake of the lowest sea ice formation in recorded history off of Canada’s East Coast, Humane Society International/Canada is urging the Canadian government to stop the commercial seal hunt. Canadian government scientists anticipate mass mortality of newborn seal pups as their sea ice habitat melts before they are strong enough to survive in open water. Furthermore, allowing hundreds of sealers to operate in cramped conditions on sealing vessels during a global pandemic presents a clear threat to public health.

“Climate change is causing rapid deterioration of the sea ice cover off of Canada’s East Coast. For the ice breeding seals who are the targets of the commercial seal hunt, it is a disaster,” stated Rebecca Aldworth, executive director of Humane Society International/Canada and a first-hand observer of Canada’s commercial seal hunt for eighteen years. “No responsible government would allow the few pups who survive these unprecedented ice conditions to be slaughtered just to produce fashion items. Moreover, no responsible health authority would allow this senseless, shameful hunt to proceed during a global pandemic. We are calling on the Canadian government to do the right and responsible thing and stop the 2021 commercial seal slaughter in Atlantic Canada.”

Canadian government scientists clearly state that the sea ice in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and off of Newfoundland will continue to deteriorate, and that the resulting mass mortality of pups will have a severe impact on the harp seal population. A precautionary approach to wildlife management clearly precludes commercial hunting of an ice dependent species whose ice habitat is quickly vanishing.

Notably, climate change makes commercial seal killing methods even more inhumane. Veterinary studies have strongly emphasized the severe suffering that results from shooting seals in or near open water, given the high wounding rates documented in the Canadian seal hunt, and the ability of wounded seals to escape beneath the water’s surface (where they die slowly and are not retrieved). As ice conditions deteriorate, almost all commercial sealing will happen in these conditions. Moreover, when seals are shot in open water or on ice too fragile for a sealer to stand on, they are retrieved with gaffs (long wooden poles with metal hooks) without the sealers first being able to physically confirm death. This results in many seals being impaled, while conscious, on metal hooks and hoisted onto bloody boat decks before they are beaten to death.

If the Canadian government refuses to stop the slaughter for good, at the very least, commercial sealing should be suspended in 2021. Failing even this basic precautionary measure, the Canadian government must, at a bare minimum, issue variance orders to:

  1. Cancel all quotas allocated in the Gulf of St. Lawrence region given the exceptionally high pup mortality that will occur in the region
  2. Delay the opening date of the Newfoundland hunt given poor ice conditions will likely delay birthing (as was evidenced in 2011, another year with poor sea ice conditions)
  3. Prohibit the killing of moulting newborn seals (ragged jackets) to prevent mass slaughter of these exceptionally young pups (as was documented in 2011)
  4. Prohibit shooting and clubbing of seals in or near open water as a measure to reduce the number of struck and lost animals during the slaughter
  5. Prohibit gaffing or hooking of animals without prior physical confirmation of death.

Download seal hunt video and photos here and here

ENDS

Media Contact: Michael Bernard, Deputy Director, HSI/Canada: 613.371.5170; mbernard@hsi.org

Humane Society International / India

Reduce your consumption of animal products and pledge to #EatKind for animals, people and the planet!

Nonprofit organizations provide veterinary care and food in Panzos, Alta Verapaz

Humane Society International / Latin America

ESAP 

PANZOS, Guatemala—More than 430 families living in poverty in the municipality of Panzos, Alta Verapaz received veterinary care and food for their domestic and farm animals following the devastation ofHurricanes Eta and Iota at the end of 2020.

With support from Humane Society International/ Latin America, members of the Guatemalan foundation EquinosSanos para el Pueblo provided animals with basic veterinary care, including internal and external deworming, and distributed vitamins. The work focused on the hardest hit communities, located 268 kilometers from Guatemala City.

The efforts helped 5,717 animals, including poultry, pigs and dogs. In a previous visit carried out at the end of 2020, the foundation helped9,162 animals.

“In the first visit in December 2020, after the hurricanes hit, ESAP found a large number of sick and malnourished animalsin a severely impacted region in Guatemala. Many of these animals survived because of the commitment of the community to the wellbeing of their animals combined with the food and veterinary care that we were able to help provide,”said Mauricio Mota, Guatemala country director for HSI.

“On the second visit, we found that the health of the animals improved. In the case of pets,  we observed a decrease in their external parasite load and an increase in their energy level, especially for the dogs,”Mota added.

Mota notes that this is an example of how animal care after natural disasters is essential for the recovery and well-being of affected families. The surviving animals received help, leading to the economic and social recovery of their owners, who in many cases suffered serious losses due to floods.

“At HSI, we hope to continue to work with our allies in Guatemala in emergency situations,” said Mota.

ENDS

Media contact:Mauricio Mota; +502 32438475, mmota@hsi.org

Humane Society International

HSI

SÃO PAULO—Cencosud, the fourth largest supermarket chain in Brazil, has announced it will sell exclusively cage-free eggs at its over 200 stores throughout eight states in the country. Cenconsud operates under different brands—GBarbosa, Bretas, Prezunic, Perini and Mercantil Rodrigues—and all of them are covered by the policy, which will be fully implemented by 2025 for their own brand eggs, and by 2028 for all eggs. The company also operates in Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Peru, and has an office in China.

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, and in the countries where they operate, to help them adopt a 100% global cage-free egg commitment.

Maria Fernanda Martin, corporate policy and program manager for HSI Farm Animals in Brazil, said: “We applaud Cencosud 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 move will relieve thousands of egg-laying hens from a life of extreme confinement, and sends a clear message to the egg industry that the future of egg production is cage-free.”

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.

Cencosud joins the other three largest supermarket companies in Brazil that have fully committed to selling exclusively cage-free eggs in the country: Carrefour, Walmart (Grupo Big) and GPA. From one end of the supply chain to the other, companies in Brazil and in the region are committing to cage-free.

ENDS

Media contact: Maria Fernanda Martin: mfmartin@hsi.org; +55 (11) 9 5770 9922

Humane Society International / India

On the occasion of World Spay Day, 23 Feb. 2021, Humane Society International/India conducted free camps for sterilisation and vaccination at its Animal Birth Control Centres located in Vadodara, Dehradun and Lucknow. The camp focused on engaging community members who care for the street dogs in their areas and promoting animal birth control as an efficient remedy to manage dog population. During this camp, over 234 dogs were sterilised and 283 were vaccinated against the rabies virus.

HSI/India facilitated the camp with highly experienced veterinarians and animal welfare officers trained to use the latest humane equipment and methods.

Keren Nazareth, director of companion animals and engagement for HSI/India, said, “There are many kind and compassionate people who care for the free-roaming dogs on their streets in Vadodara, Dehradun and Lucknow. What better day than World Spay Day to help them get their community dogs sterilized and vaccinated to ensure the dog population is efficiently maintained in their respective areas. The management of the dog population will also assist in reducing instances of human-dog conflict. We encourage the people of Vadodara to come forward and bring more street dogs to our facilities for sterilization and vaccinations through the year.”

HSI/India has been implementing a mass sterilization and anti-rabies vaccination project in Dehradun and Nainital (Uttarakhand), Vadodara (Gujarat) and Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh).Since its work began in 2013 in India, it has sterilized and vaccinated over 150,000 dogs across many cities of India.

ENDS

Media Contact: Uma Biswas: +91-8758807223; ubiswas@hsi.org

Humane Society International urges Italy to permanently ban fur farming to protect people and animals

Humane Society International / Europe

Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals

ROME—The Italian government has announced last night it will extend suspension of mink fur farming until 31 December 2021. The decision comes in the wake of the SARS-CoV-2 virus having been found on two mink farms so far in Italy. Italy has six fur farms with approximately 60,000 mink, 26,000 of whom were culled following the previous ordinance published in November last year by Italian Health Minister Roberto Speranza. Eleven countries in total (including nine EU member states) have now officially identified COVID-19 positive animals on mink farms: Denmark (290 farms), Netherlands (69 farms), Greece (23 farms), United States (16 farms), Sweden (13 farms), Spain (3 farms), Lithuania (2 farms), Canada (2 farms), Italy (2 farms), France (1 farm), Poland (1 farm).

Humane Society International, which campaigns globally for an end to the fur trade, welcomes the news but urges the Italian government to end the cruelty and public health risks by permanently ending fur farming. In December last year, HSI published a white paper highlighting the link between fur farming, poor animal welfare and infectious zoonotic disease.

Humane Society International’s director for Italy Martina Pluda, said: “While we applaud the Italian government for extending its temporary suspension of mink fur farming, to truly address the unacceptable risk of COVID-19 that fur farming represents, we urge it to permanently shut down this cruel and dangerous industry. Confining thousands of animals in small wire cages for fur production not only causes terrible suffering, but for as long as this exploitation is tolerated, and these wild species are crowded together in close proximity in low-welfare conditions, the potential for reservoirs of animal to human pathogens will persist.

Extending the temporary suspension is an important step, but if the government allows mink farming to start up again in 2022 in Italy, it will be placing the commercial interests of frivolous fur fashion ahead of the health of the public, and turning a blind eye to the suffering of thousands of animals.”

Earlier this month the European Food Safety Agency reported that all mink farms should be considered at risk for COVID-19 outbreaks. In January 2021, a Risk Assessment published jointly by the World Health Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and World Organisation for Animal Health recognised Europe as a high-risk region in relation to the introduction and spread of SARS-CoV-2 within fur farms, in addition to the spill-over from fur farms to humans, and the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from fur farms to susceptible wildlife populations. More specifically, it rated the risk factors and likelihood of introduction and spread of SARS-CoV-2 within fur farms in Italy as “likely”.

Fur Facts:

  • On 27th October last year, it became publicly known that in August 2020 SARS-CoV-2 had been detected on a mink farm in Lombardy. This information only came to light after the submission of an information request by campaign organization LAV to the competent authorities. The OIE was only notified on 30th October.
  • On 2nd February 2021 a further five positive tests were confirmed on a mink farm in the Veneto region. Furthermore, serology tests were performed on a sample of 60 mink, 90% of which showed antibodies, confirming that almost all animals on the farm had come into contact with the virus.
  • An estimated 53 million mink are farmed for their fur in more than 20 countries around the world. The top three mink farming countries in Europe in 2018 were Denmark (17.6 million mink), Poland (5 million mink) and the Netherlands (4.5million mink). In August 2020 the Dutch government agreed to fast-track the permanent closure of its fur farms from a previous deadline of 2024 to January 2021 to prevent long term COVID-19 virus reservoirs forming on affected farms. Denmark killed all its mink in 2020 and has ended the keeping, import and export of mink until 31 December 2021; Sweden has suspended mink breeding and the movement of live mink until 31 December 2021; and mink fur farming has reportedly been halted in Belgium.
  • China farmed 11.6 million mink for fur in 2019, a sharp decrease from 20.6 million mink in 2018.
  • Fur farming has been banned in the UK since 2003. Over the past two decades, 21 countries have either voted to ban fur farming, prohibited the farming of particular species, or have introduced stricter regulations that have effectively curtailed the practice. These include numerous European nations such as Austria, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, the 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 including mink and foxes, France committed to a 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 recently announced its support for a ban on fur farms.

ENDS

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International experts to discuss ‘3D Tissue Chip and Micro-physiological Systems: from development to regulatory adaptation’

Humane Society International

Andrei Tchernov/iStockphoto 

SEOUL—Cutting-edge advances in 3D organ-chip technologies will be discussed at an online symposium hosted by Humane Society International/Korea and 3D-MOTIVE project group. Titled ‘3D Tissue Chip and Micro-physiological Systems: from development to regulatory adaptation’, the virtual R&D and business strategy symposium takes place on 5 March.

The symposium will explore current scientific and research funding initiatives to advance non-animal predictive models for medical research and testing using human organ-chip micro-physiological systems. It will also explore the vision for strategic cooperation from developers to end-users to implement and utilise advanced human-based technologies instead of animals for pre-clinical testing.

Professor of nephrology at Seoul National University Hospital, Sejoong Kim, who leads the 3D-MOTIVE project, said “There is an increasing interest in developing new drug development platforms using multi-organ tissue chips. To get these newly developed methods approved by regulatory authorities to replace animal testing, close collaboration with related stakeholders is important. This symposium will provide the opportunity to share international efforts and to discuss strategic plans for Korea.”

Borami Seo, HSI/Korea’s interim executive director and senior policy manager for research and toxicology, said “For effective approaches for new drug discovery, science is increasingly moving away from animal models and applying human-relevant technologies. In December 2020, we saw the introduction of a relevant legislative proposal, the Act on the Promotion of Development, Dissemination and Use of Alternatives to Animal Testing Methods. If passed, this measure will provide a legal framework to support collaborative efforts across central authorities and provide support for long-term funding shifts toward non-animal approaches. I hope that our symposium will accelerate much-needed discussion on regulatory acceptance of cutting-edge technologies to replace animal testing methods”.

Agenda:

  • Chair by Sejoong Kim and Young-Jae Cho, professor at Seoul National University Hospital
    • Organ-Chip technology and regulatory progress
  • Dr Kyung Jin Jang, VP of Technology Implementation and Field Science, Emulate, US
    • Micro-physiological systems—from scientific models towards industry adoption and regulatory acceptance of qualified assays
  • Prof Uwe Marx, CSO & Founder, TissUse, Germany
    • US interagency organ-on-a-chip (OOC) development program: from funding to qualification for regulatory acceptance
  • Dr Suzanne Fitzpatrick, FDA, U.S.
    • Global standardization process for tissue chip techniques
  • Dr Sun-Ju Ahn, Institute of Quantum Biophysics, Sungkunkwan University, Korea
    • Introduction to the Act on the Promotion of Development, Distribution and Use of Alternatives to Animal Testing Methods
  • Borami Seo, Interim Executive Director/Senior Policy Manager for HSI/Korea
    • Industry’s role for OOC development and regulatory applications
  • Dr Adrian Roth, Roche, Switzerland

Register for the online symposium and learn more.

ENDS

Media contact: Borami Seo: bseo@hsi.org

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