Norway Agrees to Shut Down Fur Farms By 2025
Norwegian Prime minister Erna Solberg has pledged to close down fox and mink farms by 2025. The appointment was part of a deal to expand her party by adding the anti-fur Liberal party, The Guardian reported.
Producers are not happy, but the move has been welcomed by animal charities and animal rights activists. According to Solberg, Norway is home to around 200 fur farms which produce about one million pelts a year.
In a statement, the Norwegian Animal Protection Alliance (NAPA), who had been lobbying since 2001 for the restriction, “applauded” the prime minister for “deciding to phase out fur farming”.
Jon Georg Dale, minister of agriculture, criticized the government’s decision for the economic impact it could have on 400 people employed on fur farms.
Norway will become the first Nordic country and the 14th in Europe to ban fur production, according to the organisation Humane Society International.
Despite being "delighted" with Solberg's announcement, animal rights groups were quick to point out that the closure of fur farms doesn't mean the end of the fur industry as a whole.
Wendy Higgins, a spokesperson for Humane Society International, says that there are also still far too many celebrities wearing fur, which glamorizes the fur industry.
