On 15th July 2026, the Ecological Transition Commission of the Catalan Parliament approved a resolution proposal urging the Catalan Government to ban facilities breeding Nonhuman Animals exclusively for fur, and to block new authorisations for breeding minks, foxes, chinchillas, and raccoon dogs.
The initiative passed with votes from PSC-Units per Avançar, ERC, Comuns, CUP, and Junts, whilst the PP abstained, and Aliança Catalana and Vox did not participate in the vote.
The resolution opens the legislative path towards a preventative prohibition. Currently, no active fur breeding facilities exist in Catalonia, following the closure around 2009 of former sites in Viladrau and Ullastret. Previous escapes of American minks, including an incident during a 1983 forest fire in Taradell, resulted in the species becoming established in local river basins as a recently naturalised species. In Spain, 21 active facilities remain in Galicia and one in the Comunitat Valenciana.
Promoting organisations ARDE and INTERCIDS highlighted that intensive farming creates significant risks for animal welfare, public health, and ecosystems. High confinement densities and prolonged captivity induce severe stress, movement restriction, repetitive behaviours, injuries, and self-mutilation in Nonhuman Animals. The European Food Safety Authority noted in July 2025 that such systems carry a high zoonotic risk, particularly given the susceptibility of minks to respiratory viruses. Between December 2020 and October 2021, 18 SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks were recorded in Spanish fur facilities, followed by a highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreak in October 2022.
Public opposition to the industry remains high, with a 2025 BBVA Foundation study revealing that 90% of Spanish citizens consider using Nonhuman Animals for fur coats unacceptable. Additionally, in 2025, representatives of over 330,000 veterinarians demanded a progressive phase-out of fur breeding across Europe.
María José Mata, spokesperson for INTERCIDS, said, “The approval does not represent a novelty for this industrial sector in Catalonia, where there is currently no activity, but it does represent an important step forward to prevent the intensive breeding of animals intended for fur production from being re-established.”
Nineteen European Union Member States have already taken action against fur production, including Poland, which banned new facilities in late 2025.
