Presentation to ANVIL Ireland “All Ireland Animal Welfare
Conference, 2007” on 23rd September 2007
FUR OR AGAINST?
Compassion in World Farming - Ireland’s campaign to=
ban
fur farming in Ireland
&=
nbsp; &nbs=
p;
By Mary-Anne Bartlett, Director, Compassion in World Farming - Irelan=
d
Compassion in World Farming - Ireland (CIWF-Ireland) is
campaigning for fur farming to be banned in the Republic of Ireland. Fur farming is already illegal in
Northern Ireland (and in Britain).
There are 6 fur farms operating at present, in counties
Donegal, Sligo, Kerry and Laois,
rearing and killing some 166,000 mink and 600 Arctic and silver foxes
per year (Department of Agriculture and Food figures for 2005).
On fur farms, mink and foxes are bred in confinement and
reared in rows of small cages with wire mesh floors. Mink have nest boxes but no water =
for
swimming. The animals are nev=
er let
out to exercise and are caged until they are killed at about 6 months old.<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> The animals are then skinned and t=
heir
pelts exported for sale on the international fur markets.
Killing takes place on the farm. Mink are gassed in carbon dioxide =
or
carbon monoxide in batches of up to 70 animals per gassing box. Foxes are electrocuted by having o=
ne
electrode inserted into their anus and another to their mouth.
In 2004, the Green Party published a Bill to ban fur farm=
ing,
which CIWF-Ireland very much welcomed.&nbs=
p;
When the Bill was debated in the Dáil in 2005*, it was suppor=
ted
by all of the (then) opposition parties and many independent TDs but was vo=
ted
down by the (then) Government. Now
that the Green Party is in government, CIWF-Ireland is urging them to put t=
he
Bill forward a second time.
CIWF-Ireland&#=
8217;s
reasons for calling for fur farming to be banned in the Republic of Ireland=
1. Unlike other farm animals, mink and
foxes are not fully domesticated and are therefore totally unsuited to
intensive farm conditions.
The SCAHAW report**, which is a definitive report by the =
EU
on the welfare of animals reared for fur, points out that cattle or pigs ha=
ve
adapted to farming by humans for thousands of years whereas mink have only =
been
kept in captivity for 80 or fewer years.&n=
bsp;
The SCAHAW report concludes that:&n=
bsp;
“these species (an=
imals
kept for fur production), in compar=
ison
with other farm animals, have been subjected to relatively little active
selection, except with respect to fur characteristics. There has thus been only a limited
amount of selection for tameness and adaptability to captive environments.&=
#8221; =
; &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p;
2. Unlike other farm animals, mink and
foxes are not herd or flock animals and are therefore not suited to being
forced to live in close proximity to hundreds of other animals.
=
&nb=
sp; =
Regarding mink, the SCAHAW report says: “(Mink)
hunt alone, and adults live
solitarily”. Arctic=
foxes
are also characterised in the report as
“solitary”. T=
he
SCAHAW report says that the red fox (the silver fox is a colour variant of =
the
red fox): “is usually describ=
ed as
a solitary carnivore, though recent literature now acknowledges that its so=
cial
behaviour is complex.”
3. Mink and foxes cannot carry out th=
eir
natural behaviours in the confines of a cage. It is CIWF-Ireland’s view th=
at
there is no economically viable way of providing a suitable environment on =
fur
farms because, being essentially wild animals, the minimum standard would be
zoo conditions=
.
Regarding the natural behaviour of mink, the SCAHAW report
says mink in the wild always live near water, and describes their semi-aqua=
tic
adaptations. The report says:=
“farm mink show strong preferences for the opportunity to swim. An adequate fur-farming system for
provision of swimming water has yet to be designed.” The report concludes that:
“The typical mink cage… impairs mink welfare because it =
does
not provide for important needs.
Particular problems are limited locomotor and stimulatory possibilit=
ies,
lack of opportunity to climb, go into tunnels or swim, and inability to avo=
id
social contact.”
The SCAHAW report explains that, in the wild, red foxes h=
ave
territories of around 1 to 4 km2 (mean size). They dig dens or use the den=
s of
other animals. Arctic foxes r=
oam
across home ranges of around 20 to 30 km2 (mean size), and are a=
ble
to migrate more than 100 km in a single season.
The SCAHAW report concludes that: “The typical f=
ox
cage does not provide for important needs of foxes. In particular, it imposes monotony=
of
the physical environment, restricts physical exercise and species-specific
behaviour such as digging.”
The SCAHAW report acknowledges that: “current
husbandry systems cause serious problems for all species of animals reared =
for
fur.”
4. There are concerns regarding the
slaughter methods used for mink and foxes.=
In particular, there is public opposition to the killing of farmed f=
oxes
by electrocution.
Slaughter of animals on fur farms is carried out on the
farm. Mink are gassed in batc=
hes of
up to 70 animals in carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide. The SCAHAW report raises questions=
about
the batch gassing of mink and concludes that: “Research
on killing methods for animals reared for their fur should be
encouraged.”
According to the Department of Agriculture and Food, all
farmed foxes are killed by electrocution.&=
nbsp;
This is done by inserting an electrode into the fox’s anus and
another to its mouth. CIWF-Ir=
eland,
and many members of the public, view this practice as totally
unacceptable.
5. Banning fur farming would have no
significant impact on the economy of the Republic of Ireland, and would send
out a positive message with regard to animal welfare standards in Irish
agriculture.
The contribution of fur farming to the Irish economy is
insignificant. During the 2005
Dáil debate on fur farming, the value of fur exports from the Republ=
ic
of Ireland in 2004 was put at €1.9 million. Figures from the Central Statistics
Office for 2005 value exports of mink and fox pelts at €2.5 million.<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'>
Employment figures are not established, but are likely to=
be
low as fur farming is not labour intensive. Some seasonal work will be underta=
ken
during the slaughter season.
One cost of banning fur farming would be the payment of compensation to fur farmers. However, as there are only 6 farms at present, the total amount paid= out in compensation would not be excessive.&nb= sp; In 2003, the Department of Agriculture and Food estimated that, base= d on the compensation paid to UK fur farmers, such compensation would cost approximately between €1.5 and 2 million in the Republic of Ireland.<= o:p>
CIWF-Ireland is of the view that banning fur farming would
send out a positive message with regard to animal welfare standards in Irish
agriculture. We note that animal welfare is becoming of increasing concern =
to consumers,
and therefore this would be advantageous with regard to the image of Irish
produce.
6. Mink are not a species native to
Ireland. Mink that escape fro=
m fur
farms can establish themselves in the wild and cause damage to wildlife.
All mink in the wild in Ireland at present originate from
escaped or released farmed mink.
Whilst security measures are now taken to avoid further escapes or
releases, it is inevitable that some mink from fur farms will enter the wild
environment.
Feral mink can cause considerable damage to native
wildlife. In the Dáil =
debate
on the proposed Bill to ban fur farming, Martin Ferris, TD, described the
impact on wildlife from feral mink in his own local area, saying: “Animals
that were, for whatever reason, released from fur farms into the wild in my
region, the south west, caused havoc. They have done enormous damage to
indigenous species and that damage is continuing. That will be attested to =
by
any fisherman who has witnessed the result of activities of mink that escap=
ed
from fur farms or were released into the local habitat by failed fur
farms.”
7. Fur is an unnecessary fashion mate=
rial
because there are many alternative materials available. Fur cannot be equated with the
production of leather because fur animals are reared solely for their
pelts.
Raising animals for their pelts is not comparable to other
types of farming that rear domesticated animals to produce food for
people. Fur is a non-essential
fashion material and there are plenty of alternatives available. Nor can fur production be compared=
to
the production of leather, which is a by-product of farm animals reared and
killed for food.
In conclusion,=
CIWF-Ireland believes that the above points make compelling arguments
for the banning of fur farming in the Republic of Ireland.
References:
* The Dáil Debate on the Green
Party’s Bill to ban fur farming [The Fur Farming (Prohibition)
Bill 2004, published by Dan Boyle, TD] took place in March 2005. A transcript of the Dáil de=
bate
can be read on the Oireachtas website at www.oir=
eachtas.ie
in the ‘Debates’ section, or can be reached via a link from
CIWF-Ireland’s website at www.ciwf.ie/camp=
aigns/campaign_fur.html The Green Party’=
;s
Bill can also be read via a link from this section of CIWF-Ireland’s
website.
** The SCAHAW re=
port
referred to throughout this document is The Welfare Of Animals Kept For =
Fur
Production by the European Commission’s Scientific Committee on
Animal Health and Animal Welfare (December 2001). This can be read in full on the Eu=
ropean
Commission’s website at: www.europa.eu.int=
/comm/food/fs/sc/scah/outcome_en.html