Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
UVF witness fails to show at inquest on Ballymurphy
Mink and foxes kept in filthy, squalid cages Finland pelts sold to Harrowing pics show UK despite our own ban shock animal suffering
A CORONER is to consider the next steps after a UVF interlocutor yesterday failed to appear at the Ballymurphy inquest for the third time.
Witness X is set to give evidence about UVF activity in Ballymurphy at the time of disputed shootings which left 10 people, including a Catholic priest and a woman, dead.
Mrs Justice Siobhan Keegan said the witness had requested to be screened while giving evidence, a request which she had refused.
Karen Quinlivan QC, representing a number of the bereaved families, argued a statement from Witness X should not be considered if the witness could not be questioned.
She queried the reliability of the evidence, saying there is no knowledge of how it was compiled, adding it comes from “a number of different sources” and describing it as “entirely untested and entirely unchallengeable”.
However, Kevin Rooney QC for the Ministry of Defence argued this is a “very relevant witness”.
He told the inquest that the statement came about after “UVF veterans were adamant they want the truth to be told”.
Mrs Justice Keegan said she will look into whether Witness x could or should be compelled to attend. MINK and foxes are being kept in horrific conditions at Finnish fur farms that supply the UK market.
The animals were filmed suffering painful wounds and even resorting to cannibalism because they were so distressed, campaigners claim.
Mink lay dead in their tiny, filthy cages and others had injuries including infected eyes, cuts and weeping sores.
Repetitive cage pacing and head swaying was also witnessed, classic signs of mental distress and boredom.
Fur farms were banned in Britain in 2003. But Finland exports millions of pounds of fur to here each year.
Humane Society International/uk, which discovered the harrowing scenes of animal misery at 13 farms in the Nordic country, wants fur sales stopped. The charity’s Claire Bass said: “All of this suffering to provide a frivolous product the fashion industry does not need. The UK imports millions of pounds of fur from Finland with many unsuspecting British consumers buying from farms like the ones we visited.
“It’s tragic to think that fur from the baby foxes we saw on these farms could one day end up on a UK shop shelf.
“We saw a few hundred of the millions of foxes and mink in miles of battery cages. These poor young animals exist only as vessels for their fur, as broken and tormented souls.
“Despite what the fur trade tries to portray on catwalks, there is nothing glamorous about fur. As long as the UK allows British businesses to trade in fur, we are complicit in the cruelty.
“Britain was the first country in the world to ban fur farming, now it’s time for us to finish the job and become the first country in the world to ban sales too.”
Towie TV star Pete Wicks, who joined the charity on the investigation, added: “It was sickening, I don’t believe anyone who has seen the state of these poor animals, terrified and trapped in tiny cages, would ever wear fur again.
“It’s great the UK banned fur farming, but it doesn’t make sense that we’re still selling fur from farms like these.”
Since 2003, almost £700million of fur has been imported into the UK, including £14million from Finland. Most comes from China, the US, France, Italy and Poland. Last year the UK bought almost £75million of fur.
Products can be found on the high street from some of the most expensive luxury brands to market stalls. Fur from Asia mislabelled as synthetic is also finding its way into the supply chain.
Retailers including Amazon and TK Maxx were last year found to be unwittingly selling clothes and bags labelled “faux fur” made from rabbit, fox and raccoon dog. They removed them from sale when the problem was discovered.
It is estimated 100 million animals are trapped in tiny cages on fur farms, worldwide.
Mink are killed by gassing, while foxes and raccoon dogs die by electrocution.
To sign the petition go to hsi.org/furfreebritain.