Born Free USA Releases Urgent New Report on European Fur Farms
“U. S. Animal Welfare and Conservation group examines 46 European countries based on how well they regulate factory-farmed fur.” Which countries are closing down brutal factory fur farms? Which are still allowing them to operate? What YOU can do!
I once lived on a street called Fox Farm Road. Those foxes were long gone — the area was being overtaken by Suburbia: housing developments were swallowing up the woodlands and old farms. But I still found broken-down rusty fences of barbed or chicken wire and collapsing wooden pens and heard the stories from guys who remembered the thriving silver fox business. “Used to be big money in foxes.”
No wonder. The beautiful black foxes with their long, soft luxurious coats of silver-tipped hair were once the envy of the nobility of Europe and Asia, who wanted to wear those glossy pelts. And of modern women who want to look like nobility.
I never had any problem with hunting game for food. I gave it up myself early on, but know that putting wild game on the table is still a necessity for some working families. Killing animals for the fashion industry always infuriated me. Wasteful. Heartless. Cruel.
Today, silver fox farms and other fur-bearing factories are being closed in some enlightened countries. Which countries?
Born Free USA, a global leader in animal welfare and wildlife conservation, has released “CRUELTY UNCAGED,” a report ranking 46 European countries based on their regulation of factory-farmed fur.
“While a handful of countries have achieved complete bans on fur farms and more are phasing them out, almost half of the countries in the survey were found to have little or no protective legislation for furbearing animals or for animal welfare in general.”
According to Born Free USA’s report, five countries have already banned fur farms: the United Kingdom (Scotland, England, Wales & Northern Ireland) as well as Austria, Croatia, Macedonia, and Slovenia. [1] And seven more are gradually prohibiting them. A total of twelve truly-civilized nations. Twenty-two countries “offer almost no meaningful animal welfare legislation of any kind,” including fur farm laws.
“While the countries at the top of this report lead the world by completely banning fur farms, it’s shocking that so much of Europe offers so little regulation of animal welfare,” said Angela Grimes, acting CEO of Born Free USA. “It’s important that people understand the scale of suffering that’s involved in the fur industry. Animals are sentient creatures not to be exploited.”
More than 85% of the fur used in the fashion industry comes from factory-farmed foxes, mink, chinchillas, rabbits, marten, fisher, lynx and other animals.
“Millions of animals around the world are kept and killed in fur farms, where they live in extreme confinement and under severe chronic stress,” explained Born Free USA in a press release. [2]
“They’re often bred and maintained to maximize fur output, with little or no consideration for their health or quality of life, leading to deformity and obesity.
“These realities may seem shocking, and that is no accident. The tendency in America is the same as in Europe: to keep information on fur farming away from the public eye as long as profits are strong. Investigations like these can provide information on the scale and scope of these enterprises where government data collection falls far short. Born Free USA’s next goal will be to lift the shroud of secrecy over these same sorts of unregulated fur farms in the United States…”
Angela Grimes also added, “This report highlights the cruelty of the fur-farming industry in Europe, but this isn’t just a European problem.
“Demand for fur products in the U.S. supports these largely unregulated factories and others like them around the world – including here in the United States, where there’s no federal regulation of fur farming, and a patchwork of varying state regulations, if any.”
If you love animals, there’s good news in this CRUELTY UNCAGED report. And hope. And then the hard cold slap of reality.
If you listen just right, you can hear their cries for help. It’s time — time to save those animals — time to close down those freaking fur farms. Time to leave nothing but rotting wood pens and rusting wire fences…
– Brian Alan Burhoe
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[1] Vacationing in Europe? Now we know which genuinely civilized, humane countries to visit and spend our money in, eh? Or purchase their products here at home! Buy Humane!
[2] About Born Free USA: Born Free USA, a national 501(c)(3), believes that “every individual animal matters.” Inspired by the Academy Award®-winning film Born Free, “our organization works locally, nationally, and internationally on the conservation frontlines, in communities, classrooms, courtrooms, and in the halls of Congress to end wild animal cruelty and suffering and protect threatened wildlife.”
Launched in 2002, Born Free USA was inspired by Virginia McKenna and her late husband Bill Travers, who, along with their son, Will, founded The Born Free Foundation (UK) in 1984. Their experience in Kenya filming the classic 1966 Academy Award®-winning film Born Free, the story of Joy and George Adamson’s fight to successfully return Elsa the lioness to a wild and free life, launched the couple’s “compassionate conservation” movement, “aimed at keeping wildlife in the wild.” This movement continues to motivate millions of followers and activists across the globe. In 2007, Born Free USA merged with the Animal Protection Institute.
Located in south Texas, Born Free USA’s Primate Sanctuary “is the largest such facility in the U.S. and provides a permanent home for roughly 500 primates retired from research facilities or rescued from inhumane conditions at zoos and private ownership. These primates have often endured a lifetime of abuse, neglect, and cruelty, and many come to the Sanctuary with special physical and emotional needs, requiring extensive care and services. Current species in residence include: bonnet macaque, long-tailed macaque, pig-tailed macaque, rhesus macaque, stump-tailed macaque, Japanese macaque, olive baboon, and hamadryas baboon.”
To join Born Free USA in the fight against factory fur:
- You can read the Full Report of CRUELTY UNCAGED: European Fur Farm Laws at www.bornfreeusa.org/campaigns/fur-trade/cruelty-uncaged-europe/. Discover all twelve “truly-civilized nations.” And Learn more about what Born Free USA is doing to fight the fur trade.
- Advocate and educate. Visit www.furfreealliance.com for additional resources on this fundamental matter.
- Shop fur free. Visit www.furfreeretailer.com/ to explore almost 1,000 companies that have committed to a fur-free policy.
Source: PRNewswire, Born Free USA and Civilized Bears
Title: CRUELTY UNCAGED: Born Free – Banning Silver Fox Farms & Other Fur Factories
Keywords: animal welfare, banning fur farms, born free, buy humane, cruelty uncaged, cruelty uncaged report, European fur farm laws, fur factories, fur farmed chinchillas, fur farmed mink, fur factories closing, silver fox farms, silver foxes, wildlife
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