Israel is set to introduce a 'historic' ban on fur sales, with only a few minor exceptions.
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Israel has become the first country in the world to issue an almost complete ban on fur sales, effective from the start of 2022.
The ban will completely eradicate the sale of fur for fashion purposes, with the cruel products only being allowed for religious purposes such as shtreimels (fur hats worn by Orthodox men) and scientific research.
Similar exemptions are in place in California, USA, where the sale of fur was banned in 2019.
‘Indescribable cruelty and suffering’
Israel’s Environmental Protection Minister, Gila Gamliel, issued a statement after signing the regulations:
“The fur industry causes the deaths of hundreds of millions of animals worldwide and inflicts indescribable cruelty and suffering.
“Using the skin and fur of wildlife for the fashion industry is immoral and is certainly unnecessary. Animal fur coats cannot cover the brutal murder industry that makes them.
“Signing these regulations will make the Israeli fashion market more environmentally friendly and far kinder to animals.”
‘Follow Israel’s compassionate lead’
Claire Bass, executive director of Humane Society International/UK, commented:
“This is a truly historic day for animal protection, with Israel becoming the first country in the world to ban the sale of fur fashion.
“Even with the exemption for traditional dress, without which this ban was unlikely to have succeeded, Israel’s fur ban will save the lives of millions of animals suffering on fur farms or languishing in cruel traps around the world, and it sends a clear message that fur is unethical, unnecessary and outdated.
“We now call on the British government to follow Israel’s compassionate lead and implement a UK fur import and sales ban once DEFRA’s Call for Evidence is completed. For as long as the UK remains open for business to sell fur that we deemed too cruel to farm here two decades ago, we are complicit in this cruelty.”
London calling
The Humane Society has been calling on the UK government to issue a ban on fur sales for several years now, a move which would be supported by 72% of Brits.
Whilst the UK was the first in the world to ban fur farming within the country itself, over the last two years alone the UK has imported over £312,000 worth of fur from Denmark – the world’s most prolific producer of fur.
The #FurFreeBritain campaign has gained significant traction over the last few years, attracting support from animal protection groups, British celebrities, politicians and even the former CEO of the British Fur Trade Association.
Even British Vogue, the country’s most influential voice in the fashion industry has called for an end to fur, labelling it a “retrograde product mired in unjustifiable ethical issues”.
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