Call to ban sale of fur at market

ABIGAIL DONOGHUE

APROPOSAL to ban the sale of fur at Widnes Market is to be considered by Halton Borough Council. petition with over 100,000 signatures to ban the importation and sale of fur in the UK led to a debate in Parliament on June 4.

Due to the number of signatures and cross party support for the motion, Halton Borough Council is being asked to consider it an appropriate time for the ban on fur at Widnes markets. Fur farming itself was banned in England and Wales in 2000, shortly followed by Scotland in 2002.

The National Association Of British Market Authorities has not confirmed its stance on the issue, leaving the decision for individual authorities to decide.

It is believed the banning of fur will not largely affect Widnes Market as a whole, despite affecting traders who sell fur products. Suggestions of compensation for traders affected will be taken into consideration.

This subject falls outside of legislation enforced by the Trading Standards team; importation of controlled furs and animal skins are under the control of the UK Border Agency (UKBA).

The Trading Standards involvement is to enforce the ban on supplying products containing cat and dog fur. But it does hold responsibility for the correct labelling of fur when containing parts of animal origin.

So providing that fur is correctly labelled and not from a banned source, there is nothing to prohibit its sale. Despite currently not being enforceable as law, the council can apply a policy prohibiting fur based on cruelty to animals and ethical reasons.

The debate in Parliament saw crossparty support with the next likely stage being Members Of Parliament encouraging the Secretary Of State at the Department For Environment, Food And Rural Affairs to bring forward a bill for consideration. However, no timetable has been put in place for progressing it. The banning of fur of in Widnes Market will be discussed on Spetember 20.