The initiative to free Europe from the cruelty of fur

Every year millions of animals are bred and killed for fur.European animal rights associations are calling for this cruelty to be stopped.

Rows of metal cages, stacked on top of each other in closed rooms, without windows, dirty and with piles of excrement on the floor.The context is that of a chinchilla breeding in Romania, in the first investigation never carried out on these structures.The investigators of Humane society international/Europe have documented the sad reality of these animals that are still bred and killed for the production of furs.The videos show baby chinchillas struggling to walk on the wire of the cages and slipping through the mesh, and adult chinchillas frantically chewing on the bars, a behavior due to the stress of confinement.And also animals forced to reproduce continuously and others killed in home gas chambers.

The legalized cruelty of fur

According to the most recent trade data, between 2020 and 2021 Italy imported raw and tanned furs and clothing and fur accessories from Romania for a combined value of over one million and 200 thousand euros.As long as Italy continues to import fur from countries like Romania, we will continue to be complicit in the suffering of these animals.The images collected during the Hsi/Europe investigation and this data highlight not only the need for Romania to ban fur farming, but also for the entire European Union to take a step forward.Although there are many national bans in place, every year in the EU 18 million wild animals (minks, foxes, raccoon dogs, chinchillas) are still raised and killed in order to obtain freely traded fur products.This form of legalized cruelty it can no longer be tolerated.

For this reason, animal rights associations from all over Europe, represented in Italy by Being Animals, Humane society international/Europe, Ali – Animal law Italy And Work, launched the European Citizens' Initiative"Fur free Europe” to ask for the introduction of a ban on fur farming and the import and sale of fur products throughout the European Union, including those coming from third countries.Upon reaching one million validated signatures of EU citizens, the European Commission must formally respond to the request made. You can sign here.

THE'European Citizens' Initiative (ICE) it is the instrument of participatory democracy, provided for by Community law, with which EU citizens can invite the European Commission to present a proposal for a legal act for the purposes of implementing the Union treaties.Unlike common online petitions, the collection of signatures by an ICE is more complex:it must take place within twelve months, in at least seven Member States and citizens are required to provide some personal data.Therefore, there is no shortage of invitations to mobilize from the many promoting associations.This is how last September, on the occasion of the inauguration of Fashion Week in Milan, together with the associations Lav, Ali – Animal law Italia andessere Animali, Hsi/Europe projected onto the building of the National Chamber of Italian Fashion, an important and urgent message:“Act now for a Fur free Europe”.

The situation in Europe

In Europe, there are already thirteen member states that have formally banned the activity of animal breeding for the purpose of obtaining fur (Austria, Belgium – from 2023, Croatia, Estonia – from 2026, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Holland , Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia);among these also theItaly with the ban in force since January 1st of this year.On Italy it is necessary to open a parenthesis:in our country on the one hand we are celebrating a significant victory for the protection of animals, on the other we note that more than five thousand breeding mink they are still locked up in cages, awaiting the inter-ministerial decree which will decide their fate and regulate their possible transfer.

The latest updates on this matter date back to October 12, the date on which the State-regions conference was convened to express its opinion on the draft Decree of the Minister of Agricultural Policies, in agreement with the Ministers of Health and Ecological Transition containing "Criteria and methods of payment of compensation in favor of the owners of mink, fox, raccoon dogs, chinchillas and animals of any species for the purpose of obtaining fur, as well as the regulation of the sale and detention of the aforementioned animals", and which had been issued more than six months late, compared to the legal deadline of 31 January 2022.In the opinion issued, the regions are in fact delaying the possibility of relocating the mink by proposing to postpone the regulation of the structural and management requirements that the structures must guarantee to be considered suitable for welcoming the animals to a further interministerial decree.

The ban on the breeding of animals intended for fur production in Italy it is a historic achievement, which will avoid, according to the data of the last production cycle in Italian farms (2019), the exploitation of 60 thousand mink the year.Now it is necessary for the government to finish the job.At the same time, the associations also appeal for solidarity and civility to Italian and European citizens.Especially with the arrival of the holidays and the shopping period, fueled by Black Friday, it is essential to bring attention to the topic.Many consumers will be looking for a deal, especially online, and it is good to remember, on the occasion of Fur free Friday - the annual anniversary of global action against fur - that one click can kill, costing the lives of animals bred for this purpose.However, one click can also save:by signing theEuropean citizens' initiative “Fur free Europe” it is possible to create a Europe finally free from the cruelty of fur.