WARSAW, 2 DECEMBER 2025 – In a landmark victory for animals, Polish President Karol Nawrocki has signed legislation to reject fur cruelty, making Poland the 24th country in Europe to end fur farming. Under the new law, establishing new fur farms is prohibited with immediate effect, and all existing facilities must cease operations by 31 December 2033.

During the signing, President Nawrocki emphasised that the legislation is supported by two-thirds of the Polish population and that their voices should not be ignored, while also ensuring fair support for farmers leaving the trade. The new law includes early-closure compensation to help farmers transition swiftly into a more sustainable industry.

Marta Korzeniak of Anima International, says:

“This is definitely a breakthrough and a historic moment that we have been waiting for for a very long time. We are extremely pleased that the president listened to the voices of the Polish citizens and signed this bill.” 

The legislation follows decades of public debate and growing pressure from concerned citizens, animal protection organisations, and rural communities affected by the negative local impacts of the industry. The long-awaited new law marks the seventh attempt since 2011 to shut down the industry for good, following numerous investigations that laid bare the systemic animal cruelty across Polish fur farms.

Poland’s decisive action comes just months after a scientific opinion from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), which confirmed that current caging systems on fur farms are fundamentally incompatible with animal welfare standards, and ahead of the European Commission’s March 2026 decision on the future of Europe’s cruel fur trade.

Joh Vinding, Chairman of the Fur Free Alliance, says:

“We applaud Poland’s decision to ban fur farming. As the largest producer in the EU, this is yet another nail in the coffin for the dying fur industry, already in structural decline. Now the European Commission must act, because tinkering with cage sizes won’t end the suffering of millions of animals bred and killed for fur—only a full ban will. We call on the Commission to heed the 1.5 million citizens who demanded a Fur Free Europe, and the majority of Member States who have already banned the practice, by delivering an EU-wide ban on fur farming and trade.”

Poland is the largest fur producer in Europe and second-largest in the world, with over 3 million animals killed every year, including mink, foxes, raccoon dogs and chinchillas. With this ban, millions of animals will be spared a life of confinement and suffering, marking one of the most significant steps forward in the move toward a Fur Free Europe.

Fur facts:

• Tens of millions of animals suffer and die each year in the global fur trade, the majority reared in barren battery cages on fur farms.
• There are 281 fur farms in Poland, including 169 mink farms, 37 fox farms, 11 raccoon dogs farms, and 64 chinchilla farms).
• For nearly a decade, Poland has seen a decline in both the number of farms (from 810 in 2015 to 281 in October 2025) and the number of animals bred. Since 2015 there has been a decline in mink skin exports in Poland by approximately 80% (from 10.1 million to 2.4 million pelts).
• Over the past two decades, 24 European countries have taken a stand against fur cruelty, introducing bans on fur farming and phasing out the industry entirely—the 18 European Member States: the Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria (mink breeding ban), Czech Republic, Slovakia, Croatia, Slovenia, Luxembourg, Malta, Ireland, Estonia, France (non-domestic species ban), Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania (mink and chinchilla breeding ban), plus 6 European countries: United Kingdom, Norway, Guernsey, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. A number of other European countries have restricted the farming of some species or introduced stricter rules that have effectively curtailed the practice. 
• Political discussion of a ban is currently underway in Bulgaria, Finland and Sweden.