New footage prompts fresh calls for ban on fur farming

A group campaigning against fur farming in Ireland has made a renewed call to the Government to outlaw the controversial industry.

The group, Respect For Animals, said it was making the call after obtaining footage showing mink being slaughtered on a farm in the Minister for Agriculture's Donegal constituency.

It said the footage raised serious questions about the methods used to kill the animals and the monitoring of fur farms at the time of slaughter.

Respect For Animals said six mink farms were currently in operation throughout Ireland, with 150,000 animals slaughtered every year.

It said opinion polls had found that two thirds of people want the industry to be banned, but Minister for Agriculture Mary Coughlan had actually blocked legislation that would have brought about such a ban earlier this year.