Throughout the past year, there have been outbreaks of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19 to humans) on more than 400 mink farms in ten EU Member States, with millions of animals affected. It soon became evident that the SARS-CoV-2 virus could not only spread between farmed mink and mutate, but can also be transmitted back to humans and wildlife.
Fur farms pose a threat to public health and have the potential to become reservoirs for the coronavirus. Yet, despite this, the European Commission has remained mostly inactive.
A recent opinion poll, commissioned by Four Paws and Eurogroup for Animals to YouGov, conducted in France, Italy, Bulgaria, Hungary, Estonia and Slovakia, has shown that EU citizens are in favour of emergency EU action to end fur farming and breeding, to protect their health.
To draw attention to the issue, inform the public and reach out to policymakers – as a member of the Fur Free Alliance and Eurogroup for Animals and together with FOUR PAWS and Humane Society International – we are holding a joint day of online action on 14th April.