Jo-Anne McArthur

End cruel and deadly fur farming worldwide!

Millions of fox, mink, raccoon dogs and chinchillas spend their entire lives trapped in tiny wire cages before being killed and skinned for so-called fashion.

Not only do these battery cage systems cause immense animal suffering, they are also now proven to present a serious public-health risk. The cramped conditions, poor hygiene, stress, injuries and disease, minimal veterinary care and lack of genetic diversity all mean that fur farms create ideal conditions for viruses to be transmitted.

Twenty-two countries have already acted to ban the farming of animals. In light of new evidence that fur farms can also act as reservoirs for deadly viruses, as well as create new viruses, we call on all countries to ban fur farms.

Sign now to end the cruel and deadly fur trade before it causes the next pandemic!

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Dear World Leaders,

The fur trade is a deadly business. Every year, many tens of millions of animals suffer and are killed for their fur. The vast majority are kept on intensive fur farms. Animals including fox, mink, raccoon dogs and chinchillas are kept for their entire lives in tiny wire cages, before being killed and skinned for so-called fashion.
 
Not only do these battery cage systems cause immense animal suffering, they are also now proven to present a serious public-health risk. The cramped conditions, poor hygiene, stress, injuries and disease, minimal veterinary care and lack of genetic diversity all mean that fur farms create ideal conditions for viruses to be transmitted and for viruses to mutate creating new strains.

Almost 500 mink farms in 13 countries in Europe and North America have been found to have animals infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes COVID-19. On farms in Denmark, the virus mutated into new strains, which have, in turn, infected people. Disease prevention experts have expressed grave concerns, including the European Centre for Disease Control who stated that the evolution of the virus in mink could undermine the effectiveness of future vaccines in humans. The report also found that “continued transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in mink farms may eventually give rise to other variants of concern”. Now another worrying virus, Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, has been found on more than 70 fur farms, in Spain and Finland, and over 500,000 animals have been ordered to be killed on public health grounds.
 
Governments cannot respond to these worrying outbreaks simply by culling millions of animals and then allowing farmers to return to business as usual. The appalling conditions on fur farms make them a ticking time bomb for pandemic disease risk. Disease transmission experts warn that it is a matter of when, and not if, another deadly virus hits if we continue to keep animals in conditions that push them beyond the limits of their physical and psychological endurance.
 
Twenty-two countries have already acted to ban the farming of animals for their fur because it is cruel, outdated and unnecessary. In light of new evidence that fur farms can also act as reservoirs for deadly viruses, as well as create new viruses, we call on all countries to ban fur farms, and we call on world leaders to publicly acknowledge that fur farming must end.

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