The Budget Committee of the Italian Senate has approved an amendment to the budget law to implement a ban on all fur farming in Italy. This vote must now be ratified by Parliament before the end of the year, which is expected will happen without problems.
The amendment includes an immediate ban on breeding minks, foxes, raccoon dogs and chinchillas for fur, and the closure of all active fur farms in the country by 30th June 2022.
Martina Pluda, director of Humane Society International in Italy, said: “This is a historic victory for animal protection in Italy, and HSI/Europe is immensely proud that our fur farm conversion strategy has played a central role in dismantling this cruel and dangerous industry in our country. There are very clear economic, environmental, public health and of course animal welfare reasons to close and ban fur farms.”
Currently, 20 countries have already banned fur farms — or are in the process of phasing them out — of at least some key species. In particular, Austria, UK, Croatia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Belgium, Republic of Macedonia, Czechia, Denmark, Hungary, Japan, the Netherlands, Luxemburg, Norway, Estonia, France, Ireland and now Italy. Proposed legislation to ban fur farming is currently being considered in Bulgaria, Lithuania, Montenegro, Poland and Ukraine.
As of December 2021, outbreaks of COVID-19 have been confirmed on 465 mink farms in ten European countries, the United States and Canada. In February 2021, the European Food Standards Agency had reported that all mink farms should be considered at risk for COVID-19 outbreaks.
In recent years we have seen a considerable advance towards the abolition of the fur industry worldwide, with a reduction of demand by fewer people buying and wearing fur, the development of alternatives, the banning of fur farms around the world, the banning of fur sales, the banning of the import of fur, the ditching of fur by major fashion brands and designers, and the cessation of the promotion of fur products.
