MPs’ COMMITTEE TO SCRUTINISE FUR TRADE

Fur farming is banned in the UK, but imports are permitted, leading to illegal practices. MPs are to investigate the fur trade and, in particular, the practice of selling real fur as if it were artificial.

Announcing the inquiry, the chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee (Efra), Neil Parish, said fur farming had been banned in Britain since 2000, so importing of fur products should be more tightly regulated.

“Our inquiry will determine where responsibility lies for the increase in illegal fur sales, and identify the steps that need to be taken to stop it in its tracks,” Parish says.

Fur from species such as foxes, rabbits, mink, coyotes, raccoon dogs and chinchillas is legally imported and sold in the UK.

Fur farming takes places in a wide range of countries, including the USA, France, Poland and China, while wild species such as coyotes are caught in traps and then shot.

Rabbits can't be farmed in the UK, but their fur can be imported.