Over 30,000 demand a ban on fur farming in Finland
A new report from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) reveals that current conditions for fur animals cause severe welfare problems. In its petition, animal rights organisation Animalia calls for a fur farming ban in Finland as soon as possible.
Last week, Animalia handed the petition to Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Sari Essayah. The petition demands that the proposed changes to the fur farming regulation should not be approved, and instead, a ban on fur farming should be written into the Animal Welfare Act. More than 30,000 people have signed in support of this demand.
Finland is currently reviewing a draft decree on the keeping of fur animals. According to Animalia, the proposal is inadequate and does not meet the requirements of the Animal Welfare Act that came into force in 2024. This view is supported by the scientific report published last week by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), prepared at the request of the European Commission.
“EFSA’s report is very clear: studies show that raising animals in the current cage conditions causes them serious welfare problems. EFSA states that animals kept in cramped cages suffer from lack of movement and are prevented from fulfilling many of their essential behavioural needs. They also suffer from, for example, skin injuries and foot diseases,” says Animalia’s Executive Director, Heidi Kivekäs.
In total, 30,159 people signed the petition.
Draft regulation would allow harmful practices to continue
Under the draft decree, the space available to each animal would be slightly increased, and the number of enrichment items provided would be raised to two. According to Animalia, these changes are far from sufficient.
“From the perspective of evidence-based policymaking, Finland now has two options: follow EFSA’s recommendations or ban fur farming outright. Complying with EFSA’s recommendations would require, among other things, that mink be given access to swimming water and foxes the opportunity to dig. Meeting these requirements would effectively end fur farming in Finland, as it would be economically unfeasible for farmers. The clearer path would be to halt work on an inadequate regulation and write a fur farming ban into the Animal Welfare Act,” Kivekäs says.
The European Commission is considering an EU-wide ban on fur farming in response to the Fur Free Europe citizens’ initiative. Launched in May 2022 by more than 80 NGOs, the initiative gathered over 1,5 million verified signatures and has progressed to the Commission for review.
In December 2023, the European Commission stated that it is considering banning both fur farming and the sale of fur products. However, it requested that EFSA prepare a scientific opinion on fur farming from an animal welfare perspective. The Commission has pledged to issue its final response to the initiative in early 2026.
