STOCKHOLM, 3 NOVEMBER 2022 — On Thursday 3rd November, Swedish and international animal welfare campaigners delivered a letter to the Swedish Ministry of Infrastructure and the Minister for Rural Affairs urging the Swedish government to ban fur farming.

Djurens Rätt, Sweden’s leading animal advocacy organisation, were joined by campaigners from Denmark, Germany, Finland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, and the United Kingdom – all members of the international Fur Free Alliance.

Joh Vinding, chairman of the Fur Free Alliance, said:

“We are pleased to support Djurens Rätt’s call for a fur farming ban in Sweden and urge politicians to heed the views of the public and end this cruel practice as soon as possible. Modern consumers simply don’t want animals to suffer pain, stress, and fear, solely for the sake of fashion. Swedes are not an exception to this view, there is broad public support to shut down the last mink farms in the country”.

Benny Andersson, CEO of the Swedish animal rights organisation Djurens Rätt, said:

“We are grateful to have the support of animal protection organisations from around the globe joining us in calling for an end to fur farming in Sweden. Keeping animals in small wire cages unable to act out their most basic natural behaviours can never be compatible with good animal welfare. If Sweden wishes to fulfil its aim to have the best animal welfare legislation in the world, our politicians must act urgently to ban this cruel practice.

“It is time for Sweden to join the nineteen other European countries who have already banned the farming of animals for their fur”, he added.

The fur trade is in decline. Since the United Kingdom banned fur farming two decades ago, eighteen other countries have legislated to ban the practice including France, Italy, Norway, the Netherlands and, most recently this summer, Malta, and Latvia.

Fur farming is not only of great concern from an animal welfare perspective, it also raises serious concerns regarding the environment and, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, public health. Since the pandemic began, mink on more than 480 farms across Europe and North America have been infected with SARS-CoV-2, including almost all farms in Sweden.

Fur Free Europe, a European Citizens Initiative (ECI), is calling for a ban on fur farming across the European Union and the trade in fur. Since it was launched in May 2022, the ECI has gathered more than 500,000 signatures, including over 33,600 in Sweden by Djurens Rätt. The ECI aims to gather one million signatures within 12 months: Call to action: Sign Fur Free Europe to be a part of this movement.

Sign Fur Free Europe to be a part of this movement