The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is an agency of the European Union that was set up to provide independent scientific advice to policy makers. In 2023 the agency committed to identifying the most relevant welfare issues for mink, foxes, raccoon dogs and chinchilla kept for fur production, and to determine whether these could avoided or significantly reduced. On July 30, the EFSA published the results of its work.
In all species studied, the EFSA found that the most serious issues were: (1) Restriction of movement, (2) Inability to perform exploratory or foraging behavior, and (3) Sensory under‐ and overstimulation — all linked to the small sizes and barren conditions of cages on fur farms.
The EFSA went further and concluded that it is impossible for these problems to be prevented or significantly reduced without major (likely impossible) changes in the current cage-based system.
A ban on fur farming is the only realistic solution to the cruelty of breeding and killing animals for fur.
Follow this link to read the entire EFSA scientific opinion and technical report: https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2025.9519
