Update: 14 March 2022
Recent reports in the media alarmingly suggest that the government will de-prioritise animal welfare, claiming it is seen as “peripheral stuff” . This means that the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) and Animals Abroad bills are at risk of being dropped. If that happened, we’d lose proposed laws banning the importation and sale of fur stolen from the back of a sentient being. While the world faces unprecedented challenges, promises to implement vital animal welfare legislation must be upheld and the government must fulfil its commitment to having and promoting the highest standards of animal welfare, as laid out in the 2021 Queen’s Speech.
If the reports are true and these bills are torn up, the government would be betraying the minks, foxes, and other animals it promised to protect as well as the public who elected it based on manifesto commitments such as banning hunting trophies and live export.
Giving the green light to organisations and individuals to continue to profit from cruelty to animals would make a mockery of the UK’s claim that we are a nation of animal lovers. The government must keep in mind a sentiment put forth by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, “The way we treat animals reflects our values and the kind of people we are.”
Please take action now by telling the government to support the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) and Animals Abroad bills in their entirety, banning fur.
Original post:
As numerous PETA exposés of fur farms have revealed, minks, foxes, raccoons, and many other animals who are farmed for their fur spend their entire lives being driven insane by confinement to cramped, filthy wire cages. Neglected and often left suffering from untreated injuries and infections, they’re finally beaten to death, electrocuted, gassed, or skinned alive.
It’s simple: the production of fur always involves extreme suffering and a painful death.
On 31 May, the UK government launched a month-long call for evidence asking for the public’s views on the fur trade. More than 30,000 people responded, and their views will now be considered as the government analyses the responses and potentially develops legislation to ban the importation and sale of fur. Early Day Motion (EDM) 193 has been tabled, calling for the government to bring forward this legislation without delay.
Now is the time for action. As the UK has left the EU, a ban on importing fur is no longer restricted by prohibitive EU trade regulations, and implementing one is essential to ending cruelty to animals. The UK government stated in the Queen’s Speech that the UK will have and promote the highest standards of animal welfare. A ban on fur sales and imports would help achieve this and continue its legacy of protecting animals. The UK has an opportunity now to be the first country in Europe to ban all sales and imports of fur, setting an example for the rest of the world to follow.
Take Action Now
Please write to your MP and ask them to sign EDM 193 to show their support for ending the UK’s involvement in an industry that tortures and kills animals for their fur, putting pressure on the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs to act now. As your representative, your MP must respond to your letter.
Personalising your e-mail is best, but here’s a template you can use as is or amend as you wish.