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The Case Against Fur Factory Farming: a Scientific Review of Animal

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The Case Against Fur Factory Farming: a Scientific Review of Animal The Case Against Fur Factory Farming A Scientific Review of Animal Welfare Standards and ‘WelFur’ P. O. Box 6500, Nottingham NG4 3GB Tel: +44 (0)115 952 5440 Email: [email protected] www.respectforanimals.org Many images contained within this report ©Jo-Anne McArthur (www.weanimals.org) These images were taken in Europe and North America for the We Animals project and The Ghosts in Our Machine The Case Against Fur Factory Farming A Scientific Review of Animal Welfare Standards and ‘WelFur’ A report for Respect for Animals written by Heather Pickett BSc MSc and Professor Stephen Harris BSc PhD DSc 2015 1 THE CASE AGAINST FUR FACTORY FARMING Contents Page Executive Summary 4 1. Introduction 8 2. The fur farming industry in Europe 10 2.1 Scale of the fur farming industry in Europe and the world 11 2.2 The regulatory framework for the welfare of animals reared for fur in Europe 12 3. Animal welfare and its assessment 14 3.1 Animal welfare – concepts and definitions 15 3.2 Assessing animal welfare 15 4. Characteristics of mink and foxes farmed for fur 18 4.1 Biology and natural behaviour of mink and foxes 19 The American mink (Neovison vison) 19 The red fox (Vulpes vulpes) 20 The arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) 21 4.2 Breeding and genetics – are mink and foxes on European fur farms domesticated? 21 Domestication and tameness – concepts and definitions 21 Experimental domestication of mink and foxes 22 Are mink and foxes on fur farms domesticated? 24 5. Major welfare issues for mink and foxes farmed for fur in Europe 26 5.1 Farming systems, handling procedures and killing methods 27 Housing systems 27 Handling 27 Killing 27 5.2 Abnormal behaviour – stereotypies, fur chewing and self-injury 28 5.3 Space, environmental enrichment, motivation and preferences 30 Mink 30 Space 30 2 A scientific review of animal welfare standards and ‘WelFur’ Page Environmental enrichment 30 Nesting and hiding opportunities 30 Platforms, cylinders, ‘activity’ objects, water baths and running wheels 30 Foxes 32 Space 32 Environmental enrichment 32 Nesting and hiding opportunities 32 Platforms and ‘activity’ objects 32 Floor type and opportunities for digging 33 5.4 Social environment, weaning age, reproductive failure, infant mortality and infanticide 34 Mink 34 Foxes 35 5.5 Could alternative systems be developed that could meet the welfare needs of mink and foxes? 37 Mink 37 Foxes 37 5.6 Overall assessment of welfare – do current farm conditions meet the ‘Five Freedoms’ and provide a ‘Life worth Living’? 38 6. Consumer information and views on fur 40 6.1 Labelling of fur products 41 6.2 Public opinion on fur 41 7. Is WelFur able to address the major welfare issues affecting mink and foxes farmed for fur in Europe? 44 How does WelFur differ from Welfare Quality? 46 Will WelFur ensure a ‘high level of animal welfare’ for farmed mink and foxes? 47 Can WelFur be considered ‘the new scientific reference’ on fur-animal welfare? 48 Could WelFur improve transparency in fur labelling? 49 8. Conclusions and recommendations 50 References 53 3 Executive Summary 4 A scientific review of animal welfare standards and ‘WelFur’ The global fur industry has grown rapidly, with increasing n The biological functioning of mink and foxes demand fuelled by growing affluence in developing farmed for fur is impaired, as indicated by levels economies, particularly China and Russia. Worldwide, of stereotypic (abnormal repetitive) behaviour, around 95 million mink and foxes were killed for their fur fur-chewing and tail-biting/self-injury, physical in 2014. Most fur sold globally is from farmed animals, deformities (bent feet) and high levels of with Europe and China being the largest producers. reproductive failure/infant mortality; While fur animals are included in general EU legislation n There is evidence of negative affective on animal welfare, transport and slaughter, there is (emotional) states in farmed fur animals, no detailed species-specific EU legislation setting including fear (as indicated by avoidance/ welfare standards for animals farmed for fur. Serious aggression towards humans), frustration (as concerns for the welfare of animals farmed for fur indicated by stereotypies) and boredom/ were highlighted in the 1999 Council of Europe under-stimulation (as indicated by fur-chewing ‘Recommendation Concerning Fur Animals’ and the 2001 and tail-biting, long periods of inactivity when report of the Scientific Committee on Animal Health and awake and heightened response to stimuli); Animal Welfare. Recent scientific studies add further n Animals farmed for fur are unable to perform weight to the substantial body of evidence many natural behaviours that they are demonstrating that the needs of mink and foxes motivated to perform and/or frustrated/ are not being met in current housing systems and stressed by the inability to perform, such as cannot be met in any housing system with the interacting with water (for mink), interacting undomesticated animals used by the fur industry. with a sand/earth floor (for foxes), using multiple nest sites, and foraging/ranging (as indicated by Mink and foxes used for fur stereotypic behaviour). production are not domesticated The ‘Five Freedoms’ are widely used internationally as a framework for animal welfare assessment, legislation and Domestication is an evolutionary process by which a assurance standards. Farming systems for mink and population of animals becomes adapted to humans foxes fail to satisfy any of the ‘Five Freedoms’: and captivity. The most important welfare aspect of n Freedom from hunger and thirst: Restrictive domestication is the unique ability of domesticated feeding of overweight animals in preparation species to interact with humans in a positive way. for breeding results in hunger and increased Although, experimentally, mink and silver foxes stereotypic behaviour. can be domesticated, this has not, and cannot, n Freedom from discomfort: Mink and foxes occur on fur farms because changes in the coat farmed for fur in cages have very little control that are characteristic of domesticated animals are over their physical and social environment. incompatible with the fur industry’s demands. On fur Foxes are mostly kept without access to a nest farms, the emphasis is on selection for traits associated box. Handling procedures cause significant with pelt colour and quality, body size and litter size. stress and discomfort. These animals are not adapted to close contact n Freedom from pain, injury and disease: with humans and cannot be considered in any way Common problems include fur-chewing, injuries domesticated. Fear of humans in the undomesticated (both self-inflicted and from other animals), high animals used by the fur industry makes them levels of infant mortality, deformities (bent feet), fundamentally unsuitable for farming. difficulty in moving, diarrhoea and inhumane The welfare of mink and foxes killing methods. n Freedom to express normal behaviour: The farmed for fur in Europe is small and largely barren cages used to house mink and foxes on fur farms do not allow the extremely poor animals to swim, climb, run, dig, hunt/forage or range/disperse. Maternal deprivation and social Approaches to assessing animal welfare can be broadly stress can result from abrupt early weaning, summarised as ‘biological functioning’ (i.e. are the isolation in individual housing, aggression in animals physically and mentally healthy?), ‘affective group housing and the close proximity of (emotional) states’ (i.e. are the animals happy/feeling socially dominant animals. good?) and ‘natural/motivated behaviours’ (i.e. ‘do the animals have what they want?’). Whichever approach n Freedom from fear and distress: Fear is a is emphasised, the welfare of mink and foxes farmed major welfare problem for animals farmed for for fur is seriously compromised because: fur because the mink and foxes used on fur farms are not domesticated. 5 THE CASE AGAINST FUR FACTORY FARMING The Farm Animal Welfare Council considers that minimum European citizens are opposed legal requirements should be such that an animal has a ‘Life worth Living’. Levels of fear, stereotypic behaviour, to fur farming fur-chewing/tail-biting, physical deformities (bent feet) and reproductive failure/infant mortality clearly indicate The fur industry’s ‘Origin Assured’ labelling scheme does that the needs of mink and foxes on fur farms are not not stipulate any specific production standards and being met. Mink are semi-aquatic and show ‘inelastic unenforceable industry codes of practice are sufficient demand’ for water (i.e. they will continue to work for for a country to be ‘Origin Assured’. The ‘Origin Assured’ access to it, despite increasing costs). Mink accustomed label is used on fur produced in small wire cages, to the provision of water, and foxes accustomed to which have inherently low welfare potential and are having access to a clean dry substrate, may show stress opposed by the majority of European citizens. Most when they can no longer enjoy these resources. Access consumers would not consider these conditions to be to these resources would clearly be included within the consistent with the scheme’s claims of humane treatment. Farm Animal Welfare Council’s description of a ‘Life The majority of European citizens recently polled in worth Living’. ten countries, including countries with substantial The welfare of mink and foxes farmed for fur is fur production, is opposed to the farming of animals seriously compromised in current farming systems, for fur
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