Despite a record number of 1.5 million signatures in favor of banning fur farming and the fur trade in the EU, the European Commission continues to ignore the clear majority of EU citizens. Animal welfare organizations from across Europe, including the German Animal Welfare Federation, are now calling on the Commission to finally take action. They made this clear today at a protest organized by the international alliance “Fur Free Alliance” in Brussels. The European Citizens' Initiative “Fur Free Europe” collected a record number of signatures in 2023 calling for an end to the fur industry. A final response from the Commission is still pending, but is now expected in March.
“The European Commission can no longer ignore the voices of millions of Europeans and scientifically proven facts,” explains Henriette Mackensen, fur expert at the German Animal Welfare Federation. “Fur farming is animal cruelty and also poses immense risks to public health and our environment. The Commission must finally take decisive action.”
NEW SURVEY CONFIRMS: EU CITIZENS WANT AN END TO FUR FARMING
A recent survey of 18,000 EU citizens published by market research company Savanta confirms the public support for the European Citizens' Initiative “Fur Free Europe”: The results show that a clear majority of Germans surveyed (78%) are in favor of an EU-wide ban on fur farming. A similar number of people want to see action taken against the trade in fur from fur farms. 80 percent are in favor of a ban on imports of fur from farms outside the EU. Only around 8 percent of those surveyed rejected a ban.
Protest action in Brussels supports citizens' initiative
“The pressure is growing,” says Jürgen Plinz, member of the executive committee of the German Animal Welfare Federation and member of the board of the animal welfare umbrella organization Eurogroup for Animals. “Standards have apparently already been negotiated with the fur industry behind closed doors. Offers of dialogue from animal welfare organizations, on the other hand, have been ignored. If the Commission continues to trample on the will of citizens and clings to the horrific practice of fur farming, this will further damage trust in politics.” The EU Commission's response to the European Citizens' Initiative is expected at the end of March.
