Fur and foie gras ban ditched after Rees-mogg steps in

JACOB REES-MOGG forced a Cabinet about-turn on a planned fur and foie gras ban while Carrie Johnson was away, despite protests from Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park.

Plans for the forthcoming Animals Abroad Bill to include a ban on imports of the two products, which is backed by the Conservative Party’s environmental wing that includes Mrs Johnson and Lord Goldsmith, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) minister, are understood to have been ditched after opposition from Mr Rees-mogg and other ministers.

The production of foie gras, which involves force-feeding ducks or geese, is already banned in the UK but around 200 tons of the product are imported from Europe each year. While fur farming has been banned in the UK for two decades fur is still imported for use in the clothing sector. It is understood that the measures are now unlikely to appear in the Bill. However, supporters are still hopeful that they can bring in the restrictions another way.

The Bill is still set to include measures banning shark fin imports and imports from trophy hunting, a pledge that appeared in the Tory party manifesto.

Mrs Johnson is thought to have been away at the weekend when news of the U-turn was first publicised.

Mr Rees-mogg and his fellow Cabinet minister, Mark Spencer, the Leader of the House, are understood to oppose bans on the grounds that consumers should be free to choose whether or not to purchase fur or foie gras.

A spokesman for Defra said the Government was still “fully committed to animal welfare”.