Over 10,000 signatures given to ban fur farming
A petition for the abolition of fur farms has gathered 1,180 digital and nearly 9,000 handwritten or e-mail signatures. The petition will be handed over to the Estonian parliament on Friday.
The petition was launched by animal welfare NGO Loomus. Project manager Kristina Mering said that banning fur farms in Estonia would be an important ethical step forward. “That is the reason why banning fur farms is a topical issue in other parts of Europe as well – about 10 countries have banned fur farms entirely or partially,” she said.
Digital signatures were collected as a part of the long-term campaign “I’m on the side of animals”, the aim of which is to follow the example of other European countries in banning fur farming in Estonia after a transitional period. The campaign was supported by a plethora of local celebrities.
In the developed world, fur farms are already banned in England, Northern Ireland, Austria, Croatia, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Bulgaria, and partly banned in Denmark, Switzerland, Sweden, Italy and New Zealand.
In Estonia, chinchillas, rabbits, minks and foxes are raised in fur farms.
According to research by the Estonian market research company Saar Poll, 59 percent of the Estonian population does not support raising wild animals on fur farms for the sole purpose of producing fur.
