Labour Minister: Ban Fur Farming
Image: Eläinaktivistien kuvaa
Minister of Labour Anni Sinnemäki, who is also chair of the Green League, wants to ban fur farming in Finland. Her comments came after YLE broadcast videos late Wednesday showing shocking conditions at some Finnish fur farms.
Speaking on YLE Morning TV on Thursday, Sinnemäki said that her party's view is that fur farming should be banned in Finland. She noted that caged fur farming has been banned by Austria, Denmark, the UK, and other countries.
(YLE)
Earlier, in an article on an animal rights website, Sinnemäki wrote that
raising fur animals in cages is not ethically sustainable. She said that
phasing out fur farming should be included in the policy programme of the
next government. Under Sinnemäki’s vision, an interim period would be set
for the total ban on fur farms. During that period, efforts would be made to
improve the condition of the animals. She also called for more supervision
and inspections at farm where animal welfare problems have been identified.
On Thursday Left Alliance chair Paavo Arhinmäki backed her call for a phase-out of fur farming.
On Wednesday evening YLE’s A-Studio current affairs programme showed material, which had been shot at about 30 fur farms last year, mostly in Ostrobothnia. Many of the animals depicted had serious injuries of various types that had been neglected and become infected. One's tail and part of its hind quarters appeared to have been chopped off.
Some of this disturbing footage can be seen at the A-Studio website.
The Finnish Fur Breeders’ Association (STKL) strongly condemned the neglect depicted in the videos and promised to investigate the cases. It is calling for exact information about when and where the images were filmed so that breeders and officials can immediately take steps at the facilities in question.
The industry says that it employs about 22,000 people in Finland.
The Finnish Food Safety Authority Evira, which is also responsible for animal health and welfare is ordering inspections of the fur farms where the videos were shot. Evira said Thursday that on the basis of the footage, the farms are guilty of gross negligence.
According to Chief Inspector Taina Mikkonen of Evira, regional public veterinarians are being ordered to carry out inspections to look for violations of animal welfare regulations.
YLE