a day ago
- Politics
- South Wales Argus
Ruth Jones MP on need to ban fur imports and sales
We have a real history of leading the way on animal welfare. Two years ago, Wales became the first part of the UK to ban the use of snare and glue traps. Scotland then followed, and last year Labour committed to do the same in England.
Twenty-five years ago, we did the same with the Fur Farming (Prohibition) Act, raising the bar and setting an example for our neighbours to follow. Countries like Austria (2005), France (2021) and even Norway (2025) have all implemented 'fur bans' of their own, showing we were ahead of the curve.
I am proud of our record on animal welfare. But before we absolve ourselves of being complicit in the fur trade, there is another step we can and must take: banning imports and sales.
Two decades ago, we were right to ban fur farming on moral grounds – but still it is legal to import fur from beautiful, intelligent animals like foxes, mink and chinchilla.
I have seen footage from a fur farm in Finland showing foxes with raw wounds, deformed feet and infected eyes. Then there were the obese, 'monster foxes' which were the result of selective breeding to increase their yield. Make no mistake – our ancestors may have used fur to survive the winter, but there is nothing natural about the fur industry today.
Five years after covid, experts are warning us the next pandemic might come from one of these farms, where conditions are appalling for animals but perfect for viruses to mutate and make the leap to humans. This issue is urgent as the risk of a zoonotic outbreak looms large.
I have been pushing for this change with my own piece of legislation, called the Fur (Import and Sale) Bill. If passed, it would ban the import of real fur products into Britain.
Last week I carried a petition to Downing Street for the Fur Free Britain campaign with more than a million signatures and support from singer Will Young and TOWIE star Pete Wicks.
Carrying the signatures to the famous black door, we were greeted by Chief Mouser, Larry, who showed great interest in our box. Afterwards an X account belonging to 'Larry the Cat' shared our photos, asking his nearly 900,000 followers to 'leave the fur wearing to the professionals'.
I know Argus readers will agree that if an animal product like fur is too cruel to make in Britain, it's also too cruel to import from overseas. It is cruel and unnecessary, and high time we put the fur trade out of fashion.
Ruth Jones is MP for Newport West and Islwyn.
