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Home , Animal law, Meat industry

Fur

Background

The major regions are USA, China, Russia and the (EU). Most fur enterprises acquire animals using traps, or have establishments where animals are specifically bred and killed for their fur. Traps are non-selective, injuring and killing many non-target animals including endangered species and domestic companion animals. On fur farms animals are kept in abject conditions, are highly confined, and spend their lives in cages where they are unable to perform any natural behaviours.. Animals who are killed for their fur are routinely treated in horrific and violent ways1. Ethical and legislative changes are occurring globally. Los Angeles, San Francisco, Berkeley, West Hollywood and California have recently stopped the import and sale of fur. New York State and New York City are both considering bills to ban the sale of fur2 3. Europe has restrictions in place regarding fur4 and Norway has recently legislated to cease fur production5, with a transitional period allowing workers to find other employment. Brazil, India and are considering the same6.The moral case has influenced the with international designers and retailers deciding to no longer use or sell fur7. The Prada Group announced their commitment to and creativity whilst meeting the growing demand for ethical products8. London Fashion Week in 2018 was the first global fashion event to ban animal fur9. Even the Queen, Australia’s Monarch, has recently commited to stop wearing all new fur10 following concerns.

Global : Animal welfare It is impossible to have an ethical fur industry because of the nature of what is required to remove an animal’s skin. China has the largest fur industry in the world, enabled and supported by cheap labour, abysmal animal welfare conditions and poor laws and regulations11. Animals killed for fur in China include foxes, , raccoon dogs and domestic cats and dogs. Raccoon dogs are in the same family as the domestic dogs we share our homes yet they are subjected to unimaginable cruelty in the tiny cages of fur farms around the world. In the wild,

1 International Fur Trade Federation (2013) Farmed Fur 2 Rosenthal L (2019) Bill No. A05040A. New York State Assembly 3 Johnson, CD, et al. (2019) Prohibiting the sale of fur apparel Int 1476‐2019. New York City Council 4 Consolidated version of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU 2012) (2012) OJ C326 https://eur‐lex.europa.eu/legal‐ content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:12012E/TXT [accessed: 28Jun2019] 5 Dyrebeskyttelson (2019) Closure of Fur Industry in Norway [in Norwegian] https://www.dyrebeskyttelsen.no/pelsdyrnaeringen/ [accessed: 15Nov019]. 6 PETA (2019) A Guide to the Fur‐Free Revolution https://www.peta.org/features/fur‐bans‐fur‐free‐future/ [accessed: 28Jun2019] 7 Animals Australia (2019) Fur‐free Shopping https://www.animalsaustralia.org/features/fur‐freeshopping‐list.php[accessed: 28Jun2019] 8 Prada (2019) Fur Free Prada https://www.pradagroup.com/en/sustainability/environment‐csr/pradagroup‐fur‐free.html [accessed: 14Nov2019] 9 Jacobs B (2018) Is this the end for real fur? BBC Online ‐ Designed 11 October 2018. http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20181004‐how‐fashion‐fell‐in‐love‐ with‐faux‐fur [accessed: 02Jul2019] 10 The Independent (2019) Queen Elizabeth will no longer wear fur. 6 November. https://www.independent.co.uk/life‐style/queen‐elizabeth‐fur‐faux‐real‐ ceremonial‐buckingham‐palace‐a9186561.html [accessed: 15Nov2019] 11 Bale R (2016) Fur farms are unfashionably cruel, critics say. National Geographic Online. 17 August. https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/08/wildlife‐ china‐fur‐farming‐welfare/ [accessed: 01Jul2019]

these animals form monogamous, life long pairings, often travelling great distances to forage and explore12. In 2005 an extensive report by Swiss Animal Protection compiled from under-cover investigations details the barbaric treatment of animals. After weeks of confinement animals are anally and orally electrocuted, severely beaten and eventually have their throats cut. They reportedly try to defend themselves until the last moment. Animals are often skinned alive before being thrown onto piles of their struggling, dead and dying kin. Skinless animals have been documented blinking slowly, making deliberate body movements and gasping for air, up to ten minutes after having their fur removed13 Environmental damage Fur production is intensely energy-consumptive and toxic. Pelts are dipped in chemicals known to contain carcinogens such as formaldehyde and chromium. Animal waste pollutes air, soil and waterways14. Below are some of the environmental harms caused by the fur industry: ● : water, air and soil ● Biodiversity loss through escaped predatory animals ● Species loss through non-target animals ● Toxin exposure to workers and potentially wearers ● Life energy consumption: trapping, transporting, housing, watering, feeding, killing and skinning the animals ● Post-mortem energy consumption: transporting pelts followed by sorting, soaking, fleshing, , wringing, drying, cleaning, trimming, buffing and finishing prior to to wholesalers or retailers ● Animal excrement and high ● , and antibiotics – risk to , flora and other fauna ● Land degradation and reduced property values ● suffering caused by the theft of domestic , taken from the streets by collectors.

Fur or Faux Tests performed on fur in the EU, USA and Australia have demonstrated that mislabelling is common. Fur labelled as fox and have been identified as cat and dog fur through laboratory testing15. Professor Adrian Linacre of Flinders conducted DNA analyses of several Australian furs in 2012 and found items labelled as rabbit to contain domestic cat fur. In 2011, a number of items from Australian department stores Myer and Wittner labelled ‘rabbit’ and ‘raccoon’, tested positive for domestic dog16. Fur labelled faux, purchased by the public as an ethical choice, has been identified as genuine animal fur on several occasions. through similar testing. This month, fur sampled from South Melbourne Market and Queen Victoria Market in Melbourne was tested and revealed two cases of fur labelled as synthetic to be consistent with genuine raccoon dog fur. Other samples revealed an item labelled ‘rabbit’ also contained raccoon or raccoon dog. The USA has specific legislation for labelling of fur to address these unethical and fraudulent practices17 18 whereas Australia does not19. Consumers and retailers are often misled to believe that the fur they buy and sell is correctly labelled and/or a by product of the industry. South Melbourne Market claims fur retailers must provide documentation stating where and how fur is obtained and ‘that it is a by-product of the meat industry’. These claims have been challenged by the most recent investigations.

Recommendation Legislate a ban on the sale of all new fur products in Victoria. See Research Note for potential amendments.

12 Le Galle, L (2006) 13 Astounding Facts You Didn’t Know About Raccoon Dogs https://www.peta.org.uk/blog/13‐astounding‐facts‐didnt‐know‐raccoon‐dogs/ 13 Hsieh‐Yi, Yi‐Chiao, Fu Y, Rissi M, & Maas B (2005) Fun Fur? A Report on the Chinese fur industry. Swiss Animal Protection https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3010538‐Fun‐fur‐A‐report‐on‐the‐Chinese‐fur‐industry.html [accessed: 02Jul2019] 14 Fur Free Alliance (2019) Fur Bans https://www.furfreealliance.com/fur‐bans/ [accessed: 28Jun2019] 15 Patterson L (2010) Detailed Discussion of Fur Animals and Fur Production. Animal Legal & Historical Center. Michigan State University College of Law: East Lansing.https://www.animallaw.info/article/detailed‐discussion‐fur‐animals‐and‐fur‐production [accessed: 28Jun2019] 16 Dingle S (2011) Fur Claims dog Myer, Wittner. 16 Mayr https://www.abc.net.au/news/2011‐05‐12/fur‐claims‐dog‐myer‐wittner/2709662 17 The Fur Labelling Act (2000) The Fur Products Labelling Act, 15 U.S.C., Congress 18 Moran Jr., James (December 18, 2010). H.R.2480 ‐ Truth in Fur Labelling Act of 2010. United State Congress. https://www.congress.gov/bill/111th‐ congress/housebill/2480 [accessed: 28Jun2019] 19 The Law Society of New South Wales (2011) Ban on the Importation of Certain Fur Products https://www.lawsociety.com.au/legal‐communities/NSW‐young‐ lawyers/committees/animal‐law/fur [accessed: 15Nov2019]