UK Bans Mink Slaughter
Posted 1st December 2000
Picture: Minks captured for the fur trade are usually gassed after
their first winter coat appears. Photo courtesy Illinois Department
of Natural Resources

LONDON, United Kingdom, November 27, 2000 (ENS) - Tens of thousands of mink will be saved from slaughter now the UK has become the first country in the world to ban raising animals for their pelts. After years of lobbying, the Fur Farming (Prohibition) Bill became law on Friday and takes effect January 2003. Now groups like People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) are taking their anti fur campaign overseas. "Today, we are celebrating the death of the fur trade in Britain," said PETA spokesman Andrew Butler. "Despite all the desperate hoopla from this dying trade and all the free fur they've given designers, fur sales and production continue to plummet worldwide. "This is a great day for animals and a big step toward a more compassionate world." PETA's efforts to pass the Bill included persuading five politicians to cram themselves into a tiny wire mesh cage, holding a banner reading "Ban Fur Farming." The group released a video narrated by designer Stella McCartney, which showed animals on fur farms suffering untreated wounds and slow deaths. Adverts featuring partially naked celebrities like Kim Bassinger declaring that they "Would Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur," helped the cause. Like most members of the weasel family, the mink (Mustela vison) has a long, slender body and short legs.

The tail is about two fifths as long as the body. Adult males are 53 to 61 centimeters long (21 to 24 inches) compared to adult females, which are 43 to 53 centimeters long (17 to 21 inches). Most wild mink are dark brown except for a white chin and a tail that is tipped with black. On fur farms, wild, semi-aquatic mink are confined to small cages without access to swimming water. In such conditions, mink can show abnormal behavior, resorting to fur biting and self mutilation. They are usually killed by gassing after their first winter coat emerges. A poll commissioned last year by the Royal Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) showed that 74 per cent of British people supported a ban on fur farming and 86 per cent said they would not wear real fur. RSPCA spokesman Niall Duffy called the new law fantastic. "The RSPCA has campaigned against the trapping of animals and production of fur for over half a century and we are delighted that fur farming has at last been banned," said Duffy. "We believe quite simply that fur farming is cruel and has no place in our society."

The UK¹s last fox fur farm closed in 1992, but 13 mink farms remain. A consultation period will begin in the New Year to assess compensation for the farms. PETA is counting on other European countries to follow Britain's lead. It is campaigning heavily in Italy, which currently has legislation before its parliament. The group recently secured opera star Luciano Pavarotti's signature on a petition there. In Germany, top television celebrities and singers are appearing in adverts with their own animals to question the difference between farming dogs and cats and foxes and lynx. Without actually banning the fur trade, the Austrian government has made it so difficult to obtain a fur farming licence there are few fur farms left in the county. The Netherlands has a partial ban. Another Bill aimed at protecting wildlife is expected to become law on Thursday. The Countryside and Rights of Way Bill receives final consideration this week after several amendments by the UK's House of Commons and House of Lords. According to the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF), those amendments substantially strengthened and improved the bill, which now contains clear measures for the protection and management of special wildlife sites.

The Bill secures the conservation and restoration of the UK's most threatened species and habitats. "This legislation will be fantastic news for species such water voles, otters, nightingales and plants such as orchids," said Rebecca May, WWF's wildlife campaigner. "But we must not be complacent - a hostile amendment could still scupper this Bill. "We urge the government to ensure that this Bill passes swiftly and smoothly through its final stages and into law."

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