TDs get toys in campaign to ban fur farming

EACH of the country’s 166 Dáil deputies will be given a miniature mink or fox toy today as part of the campaign to ban fur farming.

Animal welfare groups, Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) and Respect for Animals, will tag each of the toys with a written plea to the TDs to support a Green Party private members’ bill, which will be debated in the Dáil tonight and tomorrow.

The groups said the bill, published by Cork South Central Deputy Dan Boyle, would, if passed, prohibit the rearing and killing of animals solely for their fur.

Green Party leader Trevor Sargent said a 2002 opinion poll showed that 64% of Irish people believed that fur farming should be banned.

There are six mink farms and at least two fox farms operating in the country, with about 140,000 mink and several thousand fox killed each year. The pelts are exported.

Fur farming is illegal in the North, Britain and Austria and is being phased out in Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden.

CIWF-Ireland director Mary Anne Bartlett said banning fur farming would be a major step in furthering high animal welfare standards in Ireland.

Director of Respect for Animals, Mark Glover, described it as an inhumane form of intensive farming.

A banner made of coupons signed by people who want fur farming banned was used by the animal welfare groups during a photocall with actress Molly Bhreathnach outside the Dáil yesterday.

The Department of Agriculture and Food said fur farming is a legitimate activity here and permitted under EU regulations.