GENEVA (AP) A red fox is scratching wildly at the wires in its little cage. A bloody-tailed Arctic fox wanders idly. An activist’s video camera shows other cuddly animals, some of whom had watery eyes, staring blankly into a light.
Images from an undercover investigation at three fur farms in western Finland in late October were made public by Humane Society International and the Finnish advocacy group Oikeutta Elaimille, often known as Justice for Animals, to shed light on the realities of the trade behind the scenes.
The activists’ intrusion occurred when the European Union, of which Finland is a member, is waiting for the EU agency in charge of animal welfare to provide input in March before deciding in March 2026 whether to suggest a complete ban on fur farming.
The secret recording of the farms was denounced by the Finnish fur-breeders’ organization FIFUR, who accused the intruders of violating the farms’ stringent biosecurity procedures, where vets keep an eye on animal welfare and activities are tightly regulated by national laws and regulations.
Because the industry is, at least for the time being, legal and regulated, some viewers may be distressed by the conditions of the adorable creatures, while others may question why this is such a huge problem.
None of the pictures depict cruelty in progress, with the exception of the animals kept in tiny cages, often with multiple animals in one cage. The brilliant crimson blood on what appeared to be an open cut and exposed bone in one Arctic fox’s tail area was not explained.
FIFUR spokeswoman Olli-Pekka Nissinen stated that his organization thought the proposal to outlaw fur farming would be rejected, saying, “These images and these intrusions… it creates a false image of normal lab animal welfare and animal keeping in the farms.”
Foxes in a cage at a fur farm in western Finland in late October 2024 are depicted in this image from Humany Society International. (Oikeutta Elaimille/Humany Society International via AP)AP
According to the breeders’ group, the fur industry has some of the strictest welfare requirements of any animal husbandry industry, and Nissinen implied that farmers are not particularly motivated to treat the animals poorly. The fur of animals is the first indication of animal wellbeing, and farmers must take good care of their animals in order to earn a living.
According to FIFUR, family farms operate the majority of its 442 member farms as of December of last year, and almost all of them are located in the Baltic Sea region of Ostrobothnia. According to the industry group, Finland is the biggest producer of certified fox pelts worldwide.
According to Kristo Muurimaa, spokesman for Oikeutta El imille, the operation entailed going into the farms to examine and record the conditions under which the animals are housed, and the photographs were taken in accordance with Finnish law.
No legal action has been announced by either party.
According to Muurimaa, people have been using fur for a very long time—basically since the Stone Ages. But the practice of keeping animals in tiny, empty cages is not that old. It is a result of the contemporary day, when animals are viewed as nothing more than commodities.
The handling of animals in this manner is out of date. He went on to say that as times have changed, it is now time to put this kind of cruelty behind us. These days, no one needs fur. The wealthy elite in nations like China and Russia mostly utilize fur as a status symbol.
Approximately 1,000 fur farms with approximately 7.7 million animals, including mink, fox, and raccoon canines, are operating in the 27-nation EU, according to the bloc’s most recent statistics.
A three-month public consultation on a government proposal to prohibit the import and sale of furs derived from animal abuse concluded last month in neighboring Switzerland, which is not a member of the EU. Authorities would be able to confiscate these furs thanks to the measure.
The Swiss government should go farther, according to activists, who want a more expansive definition of cruelty and a larger list of fur farms that are impacted. A public vote on the matter, which is now low on Switzerland’s entire referendum calendar, might take place as early as late 2026.
According to a statement released last month by Humane Society International, the majority of animals murdered for their fur are housed in sterile battery cages on fur farms, and tens of millions of animals suffer and perish annually as a result of the global fur trade.
The advocacy group cited several retail companies that use Finnish fox fur and claimed that Finland is one of the few European nations where it is still permissible to raise such animals for their fur.
According to FIFUR, which has hundreds of farms in Finland as members, China is the world’s largest fur export market, followed by South Korea and the Western Europe-North American market.
According to a survey released this year by the industry group, Poland and Greece were the largest producers in Europe as of 2023, producing virtually all of their mink, with Finland coming in third.
Although the trend line in supply has been dropping for several years, the fur business has been severely impacted by bird flu and coronavirus outbreaks since 2020, particularly in Denmark.
According to FIFUR’s research, supply quantities of mink pelts fell by around three-quarters since 2010 to 12,285 last year, which is comparable to the drop in mink pelts, which reached 2,440 in 2023.
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