Today, the European Commission has decided to register a European Citizens' Initiative entitled “Fur Free Europe” . The organizers of the initiative are calling on the Commission to introduce an EU-wide ban on keeping and killing animals for fur production. They are also asking for a ban on placing these furs and the products containing them on the EU market.
As the European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) fulfills the formal requirements, the Commission considers it to be legally admissible. The Commission has not analyzed the content of the proposal at this stage.
Next Steps
Following today's registration, organizers can begin collecting signatures. If a European citizens' initiative receives one million statements of support within a year from at least seven different Member States, the Commission will have to react. The Commission may decide whether or not to proceed with the application, and will be required to explain its reasoning.
Background
The European Citizens' Initiative was introduced with the Lisbon Treaty as an agenda-setting tool in the hands of citizens. It was officially launched in April 2012. The admissibility conditions are as follows: (1) the action envisaged does not manifestly fall outside the powers of the Commission to present a proposal for a legal act, (2) it is not not manifestly abusive, frivolous or vexatious and (3) it is not manifestly contrary to the values of the Union. Since the start of the ECI, the Commission has received 112 requests to launch a European Citizens' Initiative, of which 88 were admissible and therefore eligible for registration.
Goals
Fur farming is inherently cruel and is widely rejected by EU citizens.
It is impossible to improve animal welfare on fur farms. Although no animal should live in a caged environment, keeping inherently wild species in cages can only be defined as abject cruelty.
The keeping and killing of animals solely for the purpose of fur production is ethically unacceptable.
Numerous outbreaks of SARS-CoV-2 in mink farms have highlighted the public and veterinary health risks associated with fur production.
The existence of production bans in some Member States has a distorting effect on the supply market for farmed fur products. This favors traders in member states where there is no production ban, to the detriment of EU countries where outright bans are already in place.
The placement of fur products in the domestic markets of several territories and jurisdictions has already been banned. This includes dog and cat fur within the EU.
Echoing the calls made by many Member States, we, the citizens of the EU, call on the Commission to prohibit by law, throughout the Union, the keeping and killing of animals in the only or the main purpose of fur production.
- the placing on the EU market of farmed animal furs and products containing such furs.
Annex
The need for an EU-wide fur farming banThis European Citizens' Initiative aims to achieve an EU-wide ban on:
- the keeping and killing of animals for the sole or main purpose of fur production.
- the placing on the EU market of farmed animal furs and products containing such furs.
Reasons why European citizens want to end fur farming:
1) Farming fur-bearing animals contravenes even the most fundamental concept of animal welfare. The behavioral needs of animals raised for fur cannot be met on fur farms. Neither the five freedoms nor the five realms can be respected by undertaking this activity.
2) The vast majority of animals kept for fur production are still primarily wild animals. They are not suitable for intensive cage keeping. With regard to other animal species, such as rabbits and chinchillas, the aim of keeping animals in small cages and killing them solely or mainly because of the value of their fur cannot be legitimized either.
3) The Commission has announced its intention to phase out cage confinement for species that are raised for food. Continuing to cage animals for fur production can no longer be justified.
4) A clear majority of EU citizens want the farming of fur animals to be banned and increasingly more Member States are taking steps to eliminate the production of fur in the National level.
5) Co-legislators have expressed concerns about the farming of fur-bearing animals.
6) Fur farms pose a risk to animal and human health, as illustrated by the Covid-19 pandemic, when hundreds of mink farms were affected by coronavirus outbreaks and new viral variants of SARS-CoV-2 have been transmitted to humans.
7) Fur farming has a significant environmental impact and poses a serious threat to native biodiversity.
8) A marked divergence between national laws with regard to the fur production sector has led to a distortion in the Union's internal market, and the only justifiable solution now is to impose an outright ban.
9) The marketing of farmed furs and products containing such furs should not be allowed in the EU.
Posted on 2022-03-17 15:47
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