Commission Proposes Total EU Ban on Cat and Dog Fur

The European Commission adopted a draft regulation on 19th November to ban the import, export and sale of cat and dog fur in the EU. The European Commission stated that evidence to suggest that cat and dog fur is being sold on the European market marketed as synthetic or from animals such as rabbits. Cat and dog farming for fur production is not known to be practiced in the EU opening the prospect that the origin of such fur comes from third country imports. A number of Member States have introduced national legislation on cat and dog fur. The European Commission believes that differences in Member State approaches to the issue of fur production and labelling may pose difficulties for consumers, retailers and traders carrying out cross-border transactions in other types of fur. The Commission proposes to address these differences through creating a harmonised approach to prohibiting all production, marketing, and imports and exports of cat and dog fur in the EU. The draft regulation will be considered by the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers for adoption by the co-decision procedure.