Germany is now fur farm-free, as the last remaining establishment closes its doors.
The country introduced a ban on all fur farming in 2017, with a deadline for closures required by 2022 to allow farmers to transition into new, less cruel industries.
Most fur sold globally is from farmed animals, as mink, foxes, raccoon dogs, rabbits and chinchillas.
But the farmer who owns the last remaining fur farm has decided to shut up shop earlier than required, due to pressure from the government and animal rights groups.
The Rahden-based farm ‘now stands empty’, according to PETA, per Live Kindly, signalling the end of fur production in yet another EU country.
Undeniably, it’s great news for animal welfare. According to the animal rights activism group, the farmer shut down ahead of the 2022 deadline as he was struggling under government pressure and frequent, unannounced inspections.
The farmer, whose premises were based in North Rhine-Westphalia in western Germany, had been the subject of an online petition set up in March this year, demanding the closure of his farm.
The petition read:
Although the keeping conditions for the animals are catastrophic and mean endless suffering until the gruesome death from gas poisoning, the owner got the permission to continue the torturing of the animals until 2022.
The petitioner, who drummed up support from 1,300 signatories, argued ‘No one should enrich themselves through animal suffering’, financially.
The petitioner continued:
I still do not understand why some humans take the liberty of determining which animals we love, which one we eat and which animals we skin while being alive.
Who gives us the right to do so? Just because animals do not speak in the language we understand.
Maybe we are the breed that is too stupid to understand them. Give every animal your voice and cry out for them. Animals should not be born to end up as a fur coat for some heartless narcissist.
The Fur Free Alliance say 85 per cent of the fur industry’s skins come from animals held captive on fur factory farms, which they claim take the lives of 100 million animals worldwide every year.
These farms often hold thousands of animals, and the kinds of abuse that the facilities engage in are remarkably similar around the globe.
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A former emo kid who talks too much about 8Chan meme culture, the Kardashian Klan, and how her smartphone is probably killing her. Francesca is a Cardiff University Journalism Masters grad who has done words for BBC, ELLE, The Debrief, DAZED, an art magazine you’ve never heard of and a feminist zine which never went to print.