LAV AND ESSERE ANIMALI: It’s time for Italy to ban fur farming!

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Wildlife

LAV AND ESSERE ANIMALI: It’s time for Italy to ban fur farming!

1 April 2019
LAV
News
Thanks to the fierce efforts of our Italian member organisations LAV and Essere Animali, fur farming gained visibility in Italy again last week, with a strong message against barbaric practices.

On Tuesday 26 March a reportage about the unsustainability of the fur industry was broadcast by the prime-time television show Report. In collaboration with LAV, RAI journalist Emanuele Bellano travelled to Finland to record conditions on Finnish fur farms, and an undercover investigation by Essere Animali exposed conditions on Italian mink farms. 

Although the trend of global brands announcing fur-free collections and committing to never use fur in their production is on the rise, numerous fashion names – including Italian ones – are still sticking to this controversial material. By using labels that allegedly ensure the welfare of fur animals, brands like Moncler or Max Mara try to convince its clientele on the treatment of animals bred for the production of coats, hats and accessories. Last week’s reportage exposed the real practices behind ‘certified’ fur.

Image removed. I nosti coraggiosi attivisti hanno realizzato 3 indagini negli allevamenti di visoni italiani. Tutte le volte abbiamo filmati animali trattati brutalmente. Adesso è ora di CHIUDERLI Image removed.https://t.co/SZXTtWfj2C#Report #160milaVisoni #furfree #stopfur #pellicce

— Essere Animali (@EssereAnimali) March 25, 2019

In spite of the reassuring labels, fur farms were shown to impose horrific conditions on minks and foxes in Finland and Italy. Millions of fur animals are crammed into cages and suffer high levels of stress, leading to repetitive behaviors, episodes of self harm and an inability to express any of their natural needs.

Welfare standards for animals farmed for fur are impossible to achieve, due to these animals being wild by nature. Not only that, but their agony is prolonged with barbaric slaughter methods. The reportage showed foxes being executed with electrodes inserted simultaneously in the mouth and the anus, so as not to ruin the fur.

@S_Pavesi di @LAVonlus: “Anche i visoni italiani subiscono maltrattamenti. Abbiamo presentato tre diverse proposte di legge per abolire gli allevamenti da pelliccia”.#Report #fblive pic.twitter.com/ixyqk1D0F9

— Report (@reportrai3) March 26, 2019


Even though Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, and the United Kingdom have already banned the breeding of animals for fur production, the discussion in Italy has been stopped for years now. LAV and Essere Animali call on the Italian government to reopen the discussion on the bill submitted in 2011 and introduce a ban that would force the closure of 20 fur farms in Italy which are causing the death of 180,000 animals every year.

Read the full articles by LAV and Essere Animali.