Kristo Muurimaa/Oikeutta eläimille

Urge the UK government to say no to a trade in cruelty!

The UK government is currently negotiating a trade agreement with the EU. Unless ministers act to safeguard our animal welfare standards, this deal could trade away our right to ban imports of cruel products that would be illegal to produce here, including animal fur.

Act now to tell ministers to safeguard our animal welfare standards in EU trade negotiations—and commit to a ban on fur imports and sales.

Your message

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Minister

Nick

Thomas-Symonds

UK government

Dear Minister, 

I am deeply disappointed that the government did not fully commit to a ban on fur imports and sales in its Animal Welfare Strategy. I am writing to ask you for assurance that the current UK-EU trade talks will preserve our sovereign right to ban imports of cruel products, including fur, that would be illegal to produce here. 

If a product is too cruel to farm here, it’s too cruel to sell here. This double standard must end, and we must retain the ability to ban low welfare products, such as animal fur, from reaching our shores and stores. 

The Labour government of 2003 led the world in banning fur farming. It was rightly lauded for doing so and 23 other countries have since followed suit, including 18 EU Member States. But a handful of EU countries, including Finland, still keep animals like foxes, raccoon dogs and mink in tiny barren cages for their whole lives just to kill them for their fur. 

Polling by Humane World for Animals shows that over three-quarters (77%) of UK voters believe that when a type of farming is banned in the UK for being too cruel, we should also ban imports of products produced the same way overseas. We should not sign a deal with the EU that means we are obliged to receive imports of products from cruel farming methods used on the continent, including fur and pork from sow stalls. 

I am pleased that the Animal Welfare Strategy pledges to move British farming away from using cages and crates for chickens and pigs. But if the EU lags behind and doesn’t ban cages and crates, British farmers will struggle to compete with imports from EU countries where poor welfare means production costs may be lower. 

As you are representing a nation of animal lovers, I implore you to ensure our hard-won animal welfare standards are not undermined or traded away. 

Please make sure animal welfare is protected in your UK-EU negotiations, just as Switzerland did in its EU deal. Please ensure we can restrict imports of low welfare products, such as fur, to better protect millions of animals from terrible suffering every year. 

I support a Fur-Free Britain, and I want this government to support a ban on fur imports and sales as soon as possible.

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