Saeima deputies call for a ban on fur farming from 2026 onwards

The draft law was prepared by deputies from almost all factions of the Saeima, representing both the government coalition and the opposition – Krista Baumane (AP), Linda Medne (JKP), Dace Rukšāne-Ščipčinska (AP), Atis Lejiņš (JV), Ilmārs Dūrītis (AP), Regīna Ločmele (S), Edgars Tavars (ZZS), Ramona Petraviča (“Independents”), Valērijs Agešins (S), Evija Papule (R) and Inguna Rībena.

Only the deputies of the National Association have not signed the bill. This is probably due to the fact that the Ministry of Agriculture, which is responsible for the fur breeding industry, is headed by Kaspars Gerhards, a member of this party.

The annotation of the bill states that breeding and killing animals for fur is an unethical, cruel and disappearing type of business, which is no longer justified today. It pollutes the environment and does not contribute to the economy.

The purpose of the amendments is to prohibit the breeding of fur animals in Latvia due to fur. The amendments are expected to enter into force on 1 January 2026 and do not prohibit hunting or trade in fur.

The amendments will prevent the death and suffering of fur animals, which the majority of Latvian society considers to be unjustified, according to the authors of the law. The preamble to the Law on the Protection of Animals states that “no one shall be allowed to kill, cause pain, suffering or otherwise harm an animal without a valid reason”, which is contrary to the breeding and killing of foxes, mink and chinchillas for their fur.

–

The authors of the amendments pointed out that the results of sociological surveys show that the majority of the population does not consider fur production to be a valid reason for raising and killing animals. In many countries, legislators have already taken appropriate decisions in response to public opinion.

According to a sociological survey conducted by the public opinion research center SKDS in June 2021, 63% of Latvians do not support breeding and killing animals for fur production. In addition, more than 40,000 people have signed an online petition to the Saeima on the ban on animal husbandry on the website “www.kazoki.lv”, and more than 50 Latvian non-governmental organizations are also calling for a ban on animal husbandry in Latvia.

At the same time, the authors of the draft law emphasize that public opinion in Latvia reflects a general trend in Europe. Both internal and external trade in dog and cat fur has been banned at European Union (EU) level since 2007, and trade in sealskin products has been restricted since 2010. Various bans on animal husbandry have been adopted in much of Europe, such as Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Czech Republic, Denmark, fox farming, France, mink, Croatia, Estonia, Italy, the United Kingdom, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, In Switzerland, Hungary – foxes and mink, in northern Macedonia and Sweden – foxes and chinchillas.

In Germany, animal husbandry was discontinued in 2019 due to higher welfare requirements, such as mink swimming pools. At parliamentary level, the ban on animal husbandry is being debated in Bulgaria, Ireland, Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine.

MEPs emphasized that there was reason to believe that animal suffering was an inevitable part of fur farming, without which this type of business would not be profitable. The Law on the Protection of Animals stipulates that the owner of an animal is obliged to “ensure that the conditions of keeping the animal (..) correspond to its physiological and ethological needs, taking into account the species, development, adaptation and acclimatization of the animal.” However, the natural ethological needs of animals kept in zoos cannot be met in wire cages, for example, mink – the opportunity to swim, foxes – the opportunity to dig and socialize, chinchillas – to run and jump, parliamentarians believe.

The pronounced welfare problems in animal husbandry stem from the fact that foxes and mink have been kept in captivity for about 100 years alone, which is tens of times less than other farm animals. It should also be noted that the selection work with fur animals was performed only to change the parameters of the fur, such as color, and not to improve the welfare of foxes and mink in captivity.

Therefore, these animals in the cages of zoos are subject to constant suffering even if the breeding takes place in accordance with the welfare requirements for fur animals set by the Cabinet of Ministers (CM), the authors of the amendments believe.

According to the information provided by the Agricultural Data Center (LDC), on July 1, 2020, there were a total of 579,945 animals in the nurseries, including 579,320 mink, 443 foxes and 182 chinchillas. Thus, the total number of mink makes up about 99% of the total number of fur animals. In the wild, mink walk one to three square kilometers every day, are solitary, territorial animals that partially live in the water.

In its turn, the regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers “Welfare requirements for keeping fur animals” allow mink to be kept in 30x70x45 cm cages, where they are located close to each other and cannot avoid social contact. They cannot run, swim or hunt in cages.

According to MEPs, scientific studies show that lack of swimming for mink causes the same level of stress as lack of food.

Unsuitable living conditions to meet the instinctive needs of animals cause mental problems, as evidenced by the stereotypical behavior of mink farms – the seemingly pointless repetition of the same movements.

Related news

Fur farms will have to provide 24-hour video surveillance

–

–
–

Should fur farming be banned in Latvia? People think differently

–

–
–

The FVS comments on the cruel video from Latvia’s largest fur farm; the service promises to act

–

–
–
–
–

Zoo staff kill minks by suffocating in gas chambers with carbon monoxide or dioxide. It has been known for decades that killing mink in carbon gas chambers is long and painful, as mink, as semi-aquatic animals, can hold their breath for a long time and often survive even after 10 to 20 minutes of suffocation, the amendment annotation says.

The WelFur program, funded by the animal husbandry industry, rewards the torturous living and death conditions described above, which are unacceptable to most of the public, with the highest rating, “current best practice”. This assessment is also received by farms that do not meet the minimum standards set out in the recommendations of the European Commission’s Animal Welfare and Health Committee. Therefore, the WelFur program should be considered misleading to the public, deputies emphasize.

It is envisaged that the amendments will also achieve several other goals, for example, help to ensure that Article 115 of the Satversme states that the state protects the right of everyone to live in a favorable environment by providing information on the state of the environment and taking care of its preservation and improvement.

MEPs stress that people living in the vicinity of the farms are forced to live with water pollution, the smell of manure, an abundance of flies and damage to backyard farms when the mink that run out of the farms bite the poultry. Unfortunately, state institutions and local governments fail to eliminate these widely documented problems in the vicinity of zoos, said deputies, adding that the amendments will also help achieve the goals of the Latvian National Development Plan 2021-2027 action direction “Nature and Environment – Green Course”.

The amendments will also help reduce GHG emissions and achieve low-carbon and resource-efficient development, as well as contribute to the conservation of biodiversity. Mink escapes from nurseries, they quickly adapt to life in the wild. The bill states that American mink farmed in Latvia are considered an invasive species because they compete with the smaller European mink and endanger many native species, especially fish, amphibians, reptiles and birds. American mink are the main cause of waterbird mortality in Latvia.

The amendments will also reduce the risk of Covid-19 virus spreading and other zoonoses. As observed in Latvian zoos and elsewhere, SARS-Cov-2 transmission from humans to mink and vice versa is possible. The authors of the range of mutations have created and transmitted to humans strains of the virus against which newly developed vaccines may not be effective.

In order to prevent the risk to public health posed by the sector, it was decided to stop breeding in the Netherlands as early as 2021, as well as to stop mink farming by slaughtering around 15-17 million mink in Denmark. Breeding of fur animals has also been suspended in Sweden and Italy due to the risk of spreading Covid-19 virus.

At the same time, the annotation states that such amendments will eliminate the threat to consumer health. In order for the fur to serve and not rot, it must be treated with toxic chemicals, such as formaldehyde, which can cause cancer and genetic defects. Formaldehyde, chromium and other toxic substances are found in dangerous quantities in a large proportion of tested fur collars in children’s clothing and other fur products in Europe.

The mentioned amendments envisage the termination of the operation of the animal husbandry industry in Latvia as of January 1, 2026, therefore it will have a negative impact on the existing animal breeders. In June 2021, there were eight zoos in Latvia.

Sector tax revenues from personal income tax, corporate income tax and value added tax (VAT) were negative in both 2019 and 2020, ie VAT refunds exceeded revenues from other taxes.

Given the transition period, parliamentarians do not see a significant impact on the 2021, 2022, 2023 budgets.

It has already been reported that people plan to stay in the cage near the Saeima for a month to express support for the ban on fur farming. The municipality has received a picket application from the association “Animal Freedom”, in which it is planned to use a cage. The picket time is announced from September 14 at 8 am to October 15 at 9 pm.

The measure is related to the public initiative submitted to the Saeima regarding the establishment of a ban on fur farming.

“When we meet the deputies on the way to work, during the lunch break and on the way home, we will remind them about the animals that are imprisoned in cages in zoos and encourage them to accept the ban,” the organizers of the event have indicated on the website “sprosts.lv”.

The organizers invite volunteers to rescue animals from the fur industry, spending one day or night in a cage and info tent by the Saeima. Each shift is scheduled for 12 hours.