Please contact your MP and ask them to sign EDM 267 calling for a ban on fur imports and sales.

There is a template email for you to use at the bottom of this page.

Here is the full text of EDM #267:

That this House urges the Government to introduce legislation to ban the imports and sales of real fur products; notes that the UK has long banned the main methods of fur so-called production, namely leg-hold trapping and fur factory farming, due to their inherent cruelty; believes that, in view of these bans, it is hypocritical to continue to allow the import of real fur; further notes that the fur industry in the UK has significantly declined over the last 40 years, is now rejected by the majority of global fashion houses and UK high street retailers, and that fur sales are soon to be banned in California; acknowledges that there is a political and legal opportunity for a fur ban with the UK leaving the European Union; further acknowledges that there is widespread public support for a fur ban; and further believes that a fur ban is a natural extension of the existing import bans on cat and dog fur and commercial seal products, and that a comprehensive fur ban will help maintain the UK as a global leader in the promotion of animal welfare.

As the law stands, imports of fur are legal. The law must change. The import and sale of fur is allowed even though the main ways fur is obtained, including fur farming, are banned in Britain.

Killing animals just for their fur is cruel and barbaric, and we must stop funding it by banning imports of real fur immediately.

Fur import bans have been successfully implemented elsewhere. There is a EU-wide ban on the import of domestic cat and dog fur and California is banning the sale of real fur.

The UK should take a lead and become the first country in the world to ban fur imports.

Find your MP’s contact details here.

Please contact them about this Early Day Motion!

Template letter to your MP

Dear  [name of MP]

I am a constituent of yours and a supporter of Respect for Animals’ campaign for a Fur Free UK. I encourage you to add your name to Early Day Motion 267 calling for a ban on the imports and sales of real fur in the UK.

The full text of EDM 267, which is generating cross-party support, can be read here: https://edm.parliament.uk/early-day-motion/56726/real-fur-imports.

Fur comes from two sources- either from animals trapped in the wild or from fur factory farms.

Fur farming was banned in the England and Wales in 2000, and in Scotland and Northern Ireland in 2002. The bans were achieved on the basis that fur farming is at odds with public morality. All fur farms are factory farms, where animals are kept in small wire cages. No cage-free fur farm exists, because this would be economically unviable. The animals are slaughtered by gassing or electrocution.

The leg-hold trap, or gin trap, has been banned in the UK for their cruelty since the 1950s, but the same type of traps are still commonly used in the USA, Canada and Russia and the fur from animals caught in them is still legally imported into the UK.

It is hypocritical to allow the sale of real fur since the main methods of productions are banned for their cruelty.  That’s why it is time for the UK to ban the import and sale of real fur.

With Britain having now left the European Union we have an opportunity to act.

The World Trade Organisation has set a precedent for such a trade ban. Following challenges by Norway and Canada, the WTO upheld the right of the EU to ban trade in commercial seal products on the grounds of public morality. The WTO panel explicitly noted that commercial seal hunts pose inherent dangers to animal welfare. In 2014, this was appealed by the same countries but once again the WTO upheld the EU’s right to ban trade in seal products.

It is incumbent on civilized societies to take action where they can to remedy issues of widespread, preventable animal cruelty.

In this instance only a ban on the import and sale of real fur can resolve the animal welfare failures inherent in the fur trade.

I feel that this is a very important issue and, as my representative in Parliament, I would greatly appreciate it if you were able to add your signature. 

Yours sincerely

[Your Name]