Progress! MPs Across the Board Support Fur Import Ban at Parliamentary Debate
The UK is one step closer to becoming a fur-free zone, as MPs from across the political spectrum spoke out in favour of a ban on all fur imports at yesterday’s parliamentary debate. Labour and the Liberal Democrats recently pledged to back such a ban, and MPs from the Conservative Party and the DUP also expressed their support during the debate. Not a single MP spoke out against introducing a ban.
As part of the Fur-Free Britain coalition, PETA supporters demonstrated outside Westminster yesterday morning, holding two skinned “foxes” to highlight the suffering that animals endure in the fur industry. More than 10,000 PETA supporters also contacted their representatives in recent weeks to urge them to support a ban, and during the debate, several MPs highlighted the large volume of e-mails they had received from their constituents. Earlier this year, a government petition on the matter backed by PETA and several other animal-protection groups garnered over 100,000 signatures.
Fur farming has been illegal in Britain for nearly two decades, but cruelly produced fur items are still being imported for sale here. On fur farms, animals typically spend their entire lives confined to tiny, filthy cages, where they’re given no opportunity to engage in natural kinds of behaviour such as playing, running, finding food, and raising a family. The stress of this extreme confinement often drives them insane, and fighting, self-mutilation, and cannibalism are common. At the end of their miserable lives, they face a horrific death – often by gassing, electrocution, or poisoning.
What You Can Do
We’ll be keeping an eye on the government to make sure it follows through with meaningful steps towards introducing a ban. In the meantime, you can speak out against the fur industry by contacting online fashion retailer Farfetch and urging it to stop selling fur and angora on its website.
