A complete ban on fur imported and sold in the UK is on the agenda again. Labour MP for Newport West and Islwyn, Ruth Jones, has introduced a Private Members’ Bill to parliament that would prohibit the import and sale of new fur products, reports the BBC.
While fur farming has been banned in Wales and England since 2000, many types of fur are still legally imported and sold, she noted.
Jones said: “Twenty years ago, a Labour government banned fur farming because it was cruel and inhumane. If we think it’s cruel and inhumane to farm it, why are we importing it? It doesn’t make sense.”
The MP added: “Caged animals are kept in dreadful, inhumane conditions just to provide fur for a declining industry. Faux fur could do the job just as well.”
But the proposal isn’t without opposition, as the British Fur Trade Association (BFTA) has accused Jones of being the “wardrobe police”, adding the ban would be “unenforceable and unworkable” and may breach trade agreements with the EU and the US.
In a statement, the BFTA also warned that a ban could cost thousands of skilled British jobs: “Standards in the fur sector are among the highest of any form of animal husbandry with rigorous and comprehensive animal welfare standards, third-party inspection and strict international and national laws,” it added.
The bill follows Sonul Badiani-Hamment, UK director for animal welfare organisation Four Paws, recently presenting a petition with one-and-a-half million signatures in support of a fur-free Britain, alongside other campaigners.
“There isn’t any justification for the cruelty experienced by these animals on fur farms,” she said. “Country after country are leaving the market. Sweden recently committed to decommissioning the fur trade entirely.”
But Mel Kaplan, who works at Vintage Fur Garden in London, also told the BBC that demand for vintage fur “was growing… We have queues going out the door in the winter. Over the past three years, there’s been a resurgence in the want for vintage fur.
“I think younger people especially are looking more to vintage clothing in general. I think fast fashion has taken a decline in popularity.”
The second reading of the bill is expected to take place in parliament on 4 July.
Meanwhile, the UK government said it was building a “clear evidence base to inform future action”, with an updated animal welfare strategy due to be published later this year.
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