10/07/14 European Fur Industry Loses Chinese Market!
Animal Friends, a Fur Free Alliance member, announces the good news
- Collapse of mink fur prices on Scandinavian auctions: The Chinese buy less and less fur
September fur auctions in Finland and Denmark report precipitous price drops of mink fur compared to 2013. The average mink fur price fell down 55 percent at the most recent Finnish Saga Furs auction, while this year's sales figures of Kopenhagen Fur in Denmark, the largest fur auction house in the world, dropped 40 percent, which accounts for about a third of Denmark's exports to China.
Storehouses full of high-priced unsold stock – bought during the peak of the "Chinese fur bubble" in 2013 - will cause many new Chinese buyers to leave the market. Apart from the economical viability of the European mink breeding sector being at stake, the industry is increasingly subject of fierce public and political debate because of killing methods and behavioral problems that arise from keeping active predators in small wire mesh cages.
Stress-related, stereotypical movement patterns are widespread on mink farms. Animals kept on farms suffer from birth in small, dirty cages until their death, which is caused by electric shock, breaking of their neck or suffocation with gas. Animals caught in the wild die a slow death for days in traps. Killing animals for fur is completely unnecessary, causing animals extreme pain and suffering.
According to a report published by the Scientific Committee on Animal Health and Animal Welfare of the European Commission in 2001 fur-bearing animals are not suitable for farming or breeding. In addition, besides the fact that it is obtained by killing animals, fur is also not ecological - natural resources, drinking water and dangerous chemicals are relentlessly exploited for its treatment.
A majority of citizens in various European countries - e.g. 78 percent in Sweden, 73 percent in Croatia, 85 percent in Italy - considers mink breeding for a luxury product as fur unacceptable. Fur bans are currently being discussed in a number of European countries, and some of the countries have already banned this cruel practice. The ban in Croatia was enacted in 2007 with a ten year transition period.
According to a survey of the Hurun Report wealthy Chinese are set to buy fewer luxury goods again this year, marking the fourth consecutive year of decline. Thanks to the number of ACTAsia for Animals activities as part of the No Fur China campaign, consumers in China are being increasingly affected by the concern for the welfare of animals in the fur industry. Also, younger generations don't find wearing fur to be popular. All this has had important consequences for European fur industry.
ACTAsia for Animals, as well as Animal Friends Croatia, is a member of Fur Free Alliance (FFA), an international coalition of more than 35 animal welfare organizations who are working to bring an end to exploitation and killing of animals for their fur.
In Croatia and in the world there are retailers that refuse to sell fur; a list of these stores can be found on the www.prijatelji-zivotinja.hr website.
The "Fur Free Retailers" project has so far included Hippy Garden, Boudoir, Modna kuca MAK, Esprit, Image Haddad, H&M and many more, and is realized as part of the "For Croatia without Fur" campaign and in collaboration with Fur Free Alliance coalition.