WORKING WITH FUR
W E L FA R E A N D E N V I R O N M E N TA L S TA N DA R D S
INTRO
Fur comes from all over the world, spanning national borders and government appointed authorities. For that reason, every area has their own approach and solutions to maintaining and increasing the high welfare standards for which our sector is renowned. So if you are working with fur, you can be sure that we are a responsible sector that puts respect for animals and environment at the heart of our business.
INTERNATIONAL FUR FEDERATION The global fur sector is represented by the IFF, with member associations in over 40 countries around the world. Each of these has signed a strict Code of Conduct committing them to upholding the industryrelevant laws they fall under in their home countries. IFF takes a lead in improving transparency, traceability and communication in the fur sector and with other industries.
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FA R M E D E u r o p e N o r t h
A m e r i c a
C h i n a R u s s i a O t h e r
P r o g r a m s
EUROPE F A R M E D There are EU-wide regulations governing minimum standards and guidelines for the farming of animals generally and fur-bearing animals particularly. The sector exceeds these minimums with the Welfur program. In 2009, an extensive consultation with 7 separate Universities established the Welfur protocols for mink and fox. Currently the Welfur program is being rolled out across the EU, with participating farms subject to frequent inspections and scoring from independent experts, where low scoring farms will be excluded from the program. The farms are assessed on 4 core pillars of good housing, feeding and health as well as appropriate behaviour of the animals.
NORTH AMERICA F A R M E D In the U.S., over 90% of mink comes from farms certified by independent accredited veterinarians who are required to inspect the farms on a regular basis. This percentage is increasing. The program is administered by Fur Commission USA, the national trade association of the U.S. mink breeders. This certification is in addition to oversight by each state’s Departments of Agriculture and Environmental Protection. Canada has in place new codes of practice for the care and handling of mink and fox that were developed under the auspices of the National Farm Animal Care Council and supported by the national government. A comprehensive program of audit/assessment of the codes is being implemented. Environmental and animal-care issues are regulated by the federal and provincial governments.
CHINA F A R M E D In China the government has clear and extensive guidelines on farming of fur-bearing animals. The original version of this work was completed in 2005, but has since been updated and improved in 2016 and is officially named the “Criterion of Breeding and Utilization for Minks, Foxes and Raccoons.� These new guidelines were adopted from leading international farming standards in Canada and the EU and address such issues as euthanasia methods, cage sizes, feed and sanitation and are helping to improve local standards, bringing China closer to parity with other global production centers. The original and the updated versions of this important work were undertaken by the China Fur Commission (an IFF member) of the China Leather Industry Association and were issued by the State Forestry Administration and show their continued commitment to higher standards.
RUSSIA F A R M E D The best known fur type from Russia is sable and is more generally taken from wild populations (+90%). This is governed by international agreements like CITES and AIHTS to make sure the populations are sustained and treated humanely. Those furs produced on farms are covered by “The Federal Law on Veterinary Medicine” as well as many others and benefit from the government support of the “The target industry program on the development of fur-farming in the Russian Federation in 2013-2020.”
OTHER PROGRAMS Working concurrently with all of these efforts to improve welfare is the group IFASA (International Fur Animal Scientists Association) that develop best practices for farming globally.
FROM N AT U R E Carefully-managed and abundant wild furbearer populations throughout North America provide a surplus which can be harvested on an annual basis. Federal, State, Provincial and Territorial governments control this sustainable harvest, which is conducted by licensed trappers using regulated and certified traps during carefully regulated seasons. Some types of abundant North American wild furs include beaver, muskrat, raccoon, marten, coyote and red fox.
HIGHEST ANIMAL W E L FA R E S TA N D A R D S Animal welfare in the North American wild fur industry is assured through the Agreement on International Humane Trapping Standards (AIHTS), ISO, Best Management Practices and various Federal, State, Provincial and Territorial regulations that ensure traps and trapping meet the most stringent, scientificallyproven humane harvesting standards.
CONVENTION ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND ENDANGERED SPECIES (CITES) F R O M
N A T U R E
CITES is another international agreement that regulates segments of the fur trade. IFF staff carefully monitor the work of CITES and assure that all of its members follow these guidelines. IFF actively participates in the various discussions in the CITES forum. Under this Convention, species in trade that might be harmed by over exploitation are carefully monitored to ensure international guidelines are followed.
CITES & IUCN F R O M
N A T U R E
The IFF financially supports TRAFFIC, which is a partnership between the International Union for Conservation of Nature (Global Species Program) and the World Wildlife Fund. This consortium provides science-based expertise in various international wildlife trade fora such as CITES. The IFF also supports the Sustainable Use and Livelihoods Specialist Group (SULI) where the staff is an active participant.
Since 2014 IFF has financially supported IUCN Global Species Programme’s work to deliver science-based expertise to international wildlife trade fora, such as CITES (www.cites.org), and to help support and deliver the work of the CEESP/SSC Sustainable Use and Livelihoods (SULi) Specialist Group (www.iucn.org/ suli), and this is a partnership IFF aims to continue in the future.�
DRESSERS AND DYERS The processors of furs operate to the highest standards and are required to comply with a variety of water processing and emissions standards overseen by their local governments. Beyond local legislation, any company that wishes to import into the EU is legally bound to ensure the finished product complies with REACH. REACH is a relatively new piece of legislation that is becoming the international benchmark of stringency for what concentrations and types of chemical are permissible for legal importation. The fur dressing and dyeing sector is represented by the IFDDA (International Fur Dressers and Dyers Association Ltd.) and can be contacted via email (bs@ifdda.info).
TRACEABILITY IFF is leading an international group of companies from across the globe, in order to implement an ambitious program of welfare and environment guarantees, from start to finish. The Russian Federation is also trialing a system of RadioFrequency Identification (RFID) tags for unprecedented traceability that will soon be mandatory for all fur products sold there. Saga Furs is the leading auction company in traceability and farm certification and only sell 100% certified fox and Finnracoon (Asiatic Raccoon) with their certified mink collection increasing continuously. Finnish farmers have built up this certification programme since 2005 and it is managed by the Finnish fur breeders association and DNVGL. Finnish farm standards are unique and exceed government regulations including on environmental issues.
EN VIR ONMEN T The fur sector uses natural and renewable resources and takes great pride in its care for the environment. Real fur lasts for decades longer than fake fur. As well as its longevity, it is also completely biodegradable making it the ultimate green material. Farmed fur animals eat waste bio-materials of other sectors (e.g. fish and meat production) and their waste in turn is used to produce biogas fuels and fertiliser for yet more agriculture.
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