This reports provides an overview of current housing standards for mink, foxes and racoon dogs farmed for their fur in European countries, and confirms, through scientific evidence, that attempts to introduce cage enrichment or alternative housing systems to improve animal welfare are doomed to failure.

In the first edition of this report, published in 2015, we examined the welfare of mink and foxes farmed for fur in Europe and evaluated the fur industry’s WelFur protocols for on-farm welfare assessment. We concluded that WelFur could not address the major welfare issues for mink and foxes farmed for fur, the issues associated with inhumane handling and slaughter methods, or the serious inadequacies in fur labelling and regulation in Europe.

In this revised edition of our report, we update the scientific evidence regarding the welfare of animals farmed for fur in Europe, assess claims that these animals are, or could be, domesticated, and the credibility of WelFur.

Exotic pets in Europe are not only a mounting concern for animal welfare, public health and safety, and biodiversity conservation, but the patchwork of efforts to regulate the trade in Member States also undermines the internal market. The lack of uniformity in approaches across the Union makes the true extent of trade flows difficult to monitor and the enforcement of the rules that exist next to impossible.

As a solution, this White Paper proposes the establishment of an EU-wide positive list. This list would be elaborated using scientific risk assessments of which species can be considered ‘companion animals’ in full respect of their welfare needs, and their biological and husbandry requirements.

Request to the European Commission to re-open the infringement proceedings against Sweden regarding its wolf management policies and investigate the legality of its lynx management policies.