Furs: Imports

(asked on 3rd September 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to ban the practice of importing real fur into the UK.


Answered by
Victoria Prentis Portrait
Victoria Prentis
Attorney General
This question was answered on 13th September 2021

Fur farming has been banned in England and Wales since 2000, and since 2002 in Scotland and Northern Ireland. There are existing import restrictions on seal products and cat and dog fur. Our Action Plan on Animal Welfare was clear that we will explore potential action with regard to the import of other fur from abroad.

Whilst the UK was a member of the European Union (EU), we were subject to rules on the free circulation of goods within the EU market. Building on the opportunities presented by our departure from the EU, we can now take further steps to address low welfare standards, informed by evidence and reflecting our values.

On 31 May, Defra published a formal call for evidence on the fur trade in Great Britain (GB). This was a key step in helping us to meet the commitment set out in the Action Plan for Animal Welfare to improve our understanding of the fur sector in GB and gather evidence from interested parties. We received around 30,000 responses from businesses, representative bodies and individuals, demonstrating the strong public interest in this area.

We will use the evidence gathered to inform any future action on the fur trade in GB, in line with the Government's commitment to improving animal welfare standards. A summary of responses to the call for evidence, setting out the results and any next steps in this policy space, will be published in due course.

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