Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/italy-bans-fur-farming/

On December 21, the Italian Senate approved an amendment to the budget law that permanently bans fur farming and shuts down the ten remaining mink farms in Italy.

The farms will be transformed into sustainable humane businesses over the next six months, according to the Humane Society International (HSI).

Italy will be the 16th country in Europe to ban fur farming, joining France who also just banned farming wild animals for their fur.

Fur farming needs to be banned worldwide due to animal suffering and public health risks.

“For the sake of fur fashion, these animals spend their entire lives confined to tiny, barren, wire cages that not only cause immense suffering, but also present a serious public-health risk. The cramped conditions, poor hygiene, stress, injuries, disease, minimal veterinary care and lack of genetic diversity all mean that fur farms create ideal conditions for viruses to be transmitted and to mutate, creating new strains,” states HSI.

Many famous Italian designers have already removed fur from their collections including Valentino, Armani, Gucci, Prada, and Versace.

Martina Pluda, director of Humane Society International in Italy said, “This is an historic victory for animal protection in Italy, and HSI/Europe is immensely proud that our fur farm conversion strategy has played a central role in dismantling this cruel and dangerous industry in our country. There are very clear economic, environmental, public health and of course animal welfare reasons to close and ban fur farms. Today’s vote recognizes that allowing the mass breeding of wild animals for frivolous fur fashion represents a risk to both animals and people that can’t be justified by the limited economic benefits it offers to a small minority of people involved in this cruel industry. With so many designers, retailers and consumers going fur-free, conversion of fur farms offers people a sustainable future that the fur trade simply cannot provide.”

HSI posted the good news on Facebook where thousands of people commended Italy on their decision and hope the rest of the world follows suit.

You can help by shopping only with fur-free retailers.

Source: The Animal Rescue Site Blog