Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Illicit Fur Trade

Thursday 30 March 2023 · 3 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 3 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Government restricts imports of fur and fur products from cats, dogs, non-compliant trapping methods, and endangered species.
  • Government has committed to exploring potential action in relation to animal fur as part of the action plan for animal welfare.
  • Call for evidence on the fur market in Great Britain has been conducted, and the evidence will inform future action on the fur trade.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Mohammad Yasin Lab Bedford
Agriculture & Rural Affairs
Context

The question arises from concerns about the global trade in fur and the lack of action by the current government despite previous Labour achievements.

Question

What steps she is taking to help tackle the illicit fur trade. The Government have boasted of their world-leading record on animal welfare, but they have done nothing to tackle the abhorrent global trade in fur. The last Labour Government banned fur farming in the United Kingdom. Having dropped the planned animals abroad Bill, will the Government commit to introducing legislation to ban the import and sale of fur, and end this country's involvement in the global fur trade?

Answer from Trudy Harrison

We currently restrict imports of fur and fur products from cats and dogs, fur from wild animals caught using non-compliant trapping methods, and fur from endangered species. We will continue to enforce those restrictions very strongly. The hon. Gentleman is correct: fur farming has been banned since 2000 in England and Wales and since 2002 in Scotland and Northern Ireland. We published a formal call for evidence on the fur trade, and we received around 30,000 responses, which we are currently considering, but we have an incredibly strong record with our plan for animal welfare.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific ask to introduce legislation banning import and sale of fur was not directly addressed

How: Under Review

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Q2 Mohammad Yasin Lab Bedford
Agriculture & Rural Affairs
Context

The question is a follow-up to the initial query, focusing on the call for evidence and its outcomes.

Question

The global trade in fur costs millions of animals their lives every year. The Government's call for evidence on the fur market in Great Britain closed in June 2021. I thank the Minister for telling us how many responses there were, but since then, there has been no word from the Department on whether the ban on the import and sale of fur will be introduced. Over three quarters of voters support a ban on fur imports. When will the results of the call for evidence be published, so that this country can see what experts really think and we can legislate?

Answer from Trudy Harrison

We have committed to exploring potential action in relation to animal fur, as set out in the action plan for animal welfare. We have conducted the call for evidence, and we continue to build on our evidence base on the fur sector, which will be used to inform any future action on the fur trade.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific ask about publishing results of the call for evidence was not directly addressed

How: Under Review

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Q3 Alex Sobel Labour (Co-op) Leeds Central and Headingley
Environment
Context

The question focuses on the lack of progress in implementing a ban on fur imports following the call for evidence.

Question

Over three quarters of voters support a ban on fur imports. When will the results of the call for evidence be published, so that this country can see what experts really think and we can legislate? Does she agree that fur is best on the back of the animal, not on the back of a human?

Answer from Trudy Harrison

We have committed to exploring potential action in relation to animal fur, as set out in the action plan for animal welfare. We have conducted the call for evidence, and we continue to build on our evidence base on the fur sector, which will be used to inform any future action on the fur trade.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific ask about publishing results of the call for evidence was not directly addressed

How: Under Review

Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)