European Commission embraces WelFur

WelFur, the European fur sector’s new animal welfare programme has just been endorsed by the European Commission. Describing it as a “practical and reliable on-farm assessment system,” it’s the first ever animal welfare programme to be promoted in the Commission’s database of Self-Regulation and Co-Regulation Initiatives.

“The European Commission does not promote whitewashing, so it is a recognition of the credibility of WelFur, and it shows the fur industry works responsibly with animal welfare and society,” says Fur Europe head Mette Lykke Nielsen.

To be co-promoted by the Commission, programmes must satisfy a range of requirements including stakeholder participation, transparency, reliability, feasibility, and legal compliance.

“Fur Europe supports the idea of taking binding animal welfare legislation to the next level, whether this is at national or EU levels. WelFur assesses the animals rather than the housing system. It is dynamic and future-proof, and it comes with serious sanctions towards non-complying farmers,” Nielsen says.

Developed by independent researchers from seven different international universities, WelFur is based on a comprehensive research about fur breeding and contains four overall criteria: good feed, good animal housing, good animal health, and appropriate behaviour.

All Kopenhagen Fur farmers must be certified by 1 December 2019, and from 2020 all mink and fox sold at Kopenhagen Fur will be WelFur-certified.