ABSTRACT
Some Canadian farms produce fox or chinchilla fur, but their numbers are dwarfed by the number of mink farms.2 In a similar vein, trapping is a fur-gathering practice that continues to exist in Canada to some extent, but it predominantly occurs in other areas of the country and is not discussed in this paper.3 Second, this paper does not explore the animal rights theory that it is inherently unethical for humans to use animals as resources. Enterprising farmers began to move with greater frequency into Canada's burgeoning fur farming sector.9 A group of mink farmers established themselves in Nova Scotia's Digby County during the 1930s.10 The availability of fish and eels made this a logical location to capture, breed, and raise the carnivorous and semi-aquatic mammals.11 The Nova Scotia Mink Breeders' Association formed in 1938,12 and its farmers reaped high profits as mink became the fur en vogue in the years following the Second World War.13 The Digby farmers followed in the footsteps of the Prince Edward Island ranchers who developed so many fox farming techniques. In practice, only one Canadian fur farmer has been convicted of violating this provision.20 The Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Farmed Mink (the "Code") is a publication offering a detailed set of guidelines for the proper treatment of mink.21 However, animal law scholars have criticized this Code, along with others crafted by the National Farm Animal Care Council, for being of indeterminate legal force.22 These Codes are also flawed because they are written by farm operators rather than independent third parties.23 Nova Scotia has enacted more legislation that applies to fur farming than any other province. The Fur Industry Regulations focus on the adverse environmental impacts of mink farming.30 The Regulations address topics like feces and carcass disposal and soil tests.
ABSTRACT
Around 100 million animals are killed annually for the global fur trade, with 85% reared on fur farms and 15% trapped in the wild. Fur farming is banned across the United Kingdom (UK) under the Fur Farming (Prohibition) Act 2000 in England and Wales and parallel legislation in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Despite the farming bans, the import and sale of fur products to the UK have continued, largely due to European Union (EU) membership. The UK left the EU in 2020 and the British government is exploring a potential ban on the import and sale of fur post-Brexit. This paper reviews public surveys on attitudes to fur farming in the UK from 1997 to 2021. It then reports the results of an online questionnaire to investigate in greater depth the beliefs of UK residents (n = 326) about the welfare of animals used in fur production, knowledge of the legal context of the fur trade and attitudes toward a ban on the import and sale of fur in the UK. A large majority (86%) of respondents believed that fur-farmed animals do not experience a good life. Over four-fifths (83%) disagreed that it is morally acceptable for the UK government to ban fur farming and yet continue to import and sell fur from producers overseas, with over three-quarters (78%) supporting a legal ban on the import and sale of fur in the UK.