PETA Urges Sweden’s Newly Elected Prime Minister to Ban Fur Farms
PETA has sent a letter to newly elected Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, urging him to shut down Sweden’s remaining mink farms as one of his first initiatives in office.
By doing do, Kristersson could help stop the spread of COVID-19 and other zoonotic diseases, affirm Sweden’s role as an animal- and eco-friendly nation, and heed the wishes of the 80% of Swedes who support a ban on fur farming.
©Jo-Anne McArthur / #MakeFurHistory
Breeding Ground for Disease
The ask comes after mink breeding was temporarily banned in 2020 following outbreaks of COVID-19 on fur farms, where animals are kept in crowded cages, making it easy for bodily fluids and diseases to spread.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that approximately 75% of recently emerging infectious diseases that affect humans originated in other animals. Reopening these facilities would mean “rolling out the welcome mat for the coronavirus”.
Environmental Impact
Given the waste run-off and the toxic chemicals needed to prevent fur from decomposing, fur farms are an ecological nightmare.
A 2013 study by consultancy firm CE Delft compared the impact of fur production with that of the production of synthetic textiles. It found that the impact of a mink coat on the climate catastrophe was up to 10 times higher than that of a faux-fur coat! Sweden is known around the world for its green credentials, but mink farming is most definitely not green.
Filthy Cages, Untreated Wounds
Investigations into mink farms have found animals left with untreated bite wounds and missing legs that were bitten off during fights, living in extreme confinement next to the rotting corpses of their cagemates.
Driven insane by captivity, minks have been found to engage in infanticide, cannibalism, and self-mutilation.
At these farms, minks are born to be killed by poisoning, gassing, drowning, or being skinned alive.
Urge Sweden to Ban Fur Farms
Austria, Belgium, Estonia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Norway, the United Kingdom, Slovakia, and Slovenia have all banned fur farming. Sweden should join this growing list.
International pressure will help ensure that a ban on all fur farming is on the political agenda. Please send a message to Sweden’s minister for rural affairs now:
