Furs: Imports

(asked on 1st October 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether the terms of the rollover free trade agreement signed by the UK with the Cariforum trade bloc permit the UK to impose a ban on the import of fur and fur products from Belize.


Answered by
Ranil Jayawardena Portrait
Ranil Jayawardena
This question was answered on 7th October 2020

HM Government shares the British public's high regard for animal welfare. There are restrictions on some skin and fur products, which cannot be legally imported into the United Kingdom. These include fur from cats and dogs, seal skins and products from commercial hunts. Legislation has prohibited farming of animals for their fur since 2000 in England and Wales, and 2002 in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Once our future relationship with the EU has been established, we will have the opportunity to consider further steps we could take in relation to fur sales – and our commitment to tackling the illegal wildlife trade more generally.

For continuity trade agreements, it is important to be clear that these are the EU’s trade agreements that we are simply seeking to replicate in order to secure continuity for British businesses, but foreign partners should be under no illusion that HM Government is clear in its commitment to protect endangered species and uphold our animal welfare standards.

Reticulating Splines