Government should consider banning the sale of fur, say MPs
2 min read
MPs have urged the Government to consider banning the sale of fur after it emerged that current rules around labelling are not being enforced.
In a new report, the Environment Food and Rural Affairs Committee has highlighted the widespread mislabelling of products in shops - with real fur being sold as fake.
The report states that the "current labelling system is confusing, not fit for purpose and with a high degree of non-compliance".
The cross-party group of MPs looked into the issue after media reports exposed the problem.
They found that many garments being sold as faux fur were in fact real, with testing of the fibres identifying the use of rabbit, mink, fox, raccoon dog, and, most often, cat.
Committee chair Neil Parish MP said: "We found the retailers were not finding the real fur, trading standards were not fit for purpose and we want to see a public consultation done by the government on whether in the future we should actually ban fur."
Claire Bass, UK executive director of the charity Humane Society International, said: "The UK was the first country in the world to ban fur farming, after the British public, politicians and veterinary experts concluded that it is an inhumane and completely unnecessary industry.
"So it is total double standards for us to still be importing and selling fur from animals still suffering the same conditions we banned here.
"The UK government has the opportunity to blaze a trail as the first country to ban the sale of all animal fur, so we are delighted that EFRA committee members are pressing government to launch a public consultation to help inform and build that case."
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