Dec 03, 2020, 02:11 am
This week, Hungary announced a preemptive ban on farming mink, ferrets (polecats), foxes, and coypu. While these animals are not currently farmed for fur in the country, Hungary’s Ministerial Commissioner of Animal Protection Péter Óvári made the announcement as a measure to mitigate the spread of zoonotic disease after the COVID-19 virus (and mutations of it) were found on mink fur farms in a number of countries, including the Netherlands, Denmark, the United States, Italy, France, Greece, and Spain. Both the Netherlands and Denmark have killed millions of mink in an effort to stop the spread of the mutated COVID-19 virus—which could prove detrimental to any future vaccines.
Thousands of chinchillas—who are exploited in the same way as other fur-bearing animals—are bred for fur in Hungary and are noticeably absent from its fur ban, leaving the country susceptible for future zoonotic diseases.
In the US, infected mink have been found on 15 farms in Utah, Wisconsin, and Michigan. State officials in Utah and Wisconsin have insisted that the spread of the COVID-19 virus from animals to humans—which was the case in the Netherlands and Denmark—is minimal and have failed to act in any meaningful way, according to animal-rights groups the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and Humane Society Legislative Fund (HSLF).
https://vegnews.com/2020/11/hungary-bans...ur-farming
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Reported November 27.
Animal fur to be banned from Budapest fairs
The Budapest municipality is proposing banning the sale of the fur of wild animals from the city's street markets and fairs, the metropolitan council said on Friday.
The proposal is in line with the initiative of the Hungarian Anti-Fur League (Magyar Szőrmeellenes Liga), the statement said.
Although Christmas fairs will be banned this year due to the pandemic, the municipality is nevertheless proposing that the Assembly bans the selling of wild animal fur in the city's public spaces.
Products made from the skin and fur of domesticated animals are exempt from the measure.
https://hirado.hu/in-english/cikk/2020/1...pest-fairs
Quote:“Although these species are not currently farmed for fur in the country, this ban is more than just symbol politics because there is a very real and present danger that fur farmers from elsewhere in Europe may attempt to move their operations to Hungary and set up shop there,” Joanna Swabe, Senior Director of Public Affairs for Humane Society International (HSI) Europe, said.
“This is a precautionary measure that shuts the door to that happening, and that is a good outcome for human health and animal welfare.”
Thousands of chinchillas—who are exploited in the same way as other fur-bearing animals—are bred for fur in Hungary and are noticeably absent from its fur ban, leaving the country susceptible for future zoonotic diseases.
Quote:“For as long as the animal exploitation of fur farming is tolerated, the potential for reservoirs of animal to human pathogens will persist,” Swabe said, “and so HSI hopes that the Hungarian government will also consider strengthening its ban by shutting down the country’s chinchilla fur farms too, and make fur farming history in Hungary.”
In the US, infected mink have been found on 15 farms in Utah, Wisconsin, and Michigan. State officials in Utah and Wisconsin have insisted that the spread of the COVID-19 virus from animals to humans—which was the case in the Netherlands and Denmark—is minimal and have failed to act in any meaningful way, according to animal-rights groups the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and Humane Society Legislative Fund (HSLF).
Quote:“This lack of action is creating a public health risk for the workers and for the American public. It is also resulting in added suffering for the mink caged on these fur farms,” HSUS CEO Kitty Block and HSLF President Sara Amundson said in a joint statement.
“The US government, too, should immediately take steps to stop the spread of the virus on fur farms, and press for closing down the nation’s fur industry. We already know that US demand for fur is dropping every year with more and more Americans turning to fur alternatives. The coronavirus has shown us that fur’s ill effects stretch far beyond animal suffering, and there is no reason at all to let this cruelty continue for a day longer.”
https://vegnews.com/2020/11/hungary-bans...ur-farming
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Related News:
Reported November 27.
Animal fur to be banned from Budapest fairs
The Budapest municipality is proposing banning the sale of the fur of wild animals from the city's street markets and fairs, the metropolitan council said on Friday.
The proposal is in line with the initiative of the Hungarian Anti-Fur League (Magyar Szőrmeellenes Liga), the statement said.
Although Christmas fairs will be banned this year due to the pandemic, the municipality is nevertheless proposing that the Assembly bans the selling of wild animal fur in the city's public spaces.
Products made from the skin and fur of domesticated animals are exempt from the measure.
Quote:"The municipality leadership is committed to protecting animals and preserving nature, and to all endeavors aiming to make our environment more habitable while preserving biodiversity," the statement said.
https://hirado.hu/in-english/cikk/2020/1...pest-fairs