Fur sales could be banned in UK after Brexit under ministers' proposals

Lord Goldsmith is understood to be spearheading plans to prohibit fur sales
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Emily Lawford25 September 2020

Fur sales could be banned after Britain leaves the EU single market and customs union under proposals being drawn up by ministers.

Lord Goldsmith, a minister at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and close friend of Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his fiancée Carrie Symonds, is understood to be spearheading the plans.

Ms Symonds, an animal rights campaigner, said last year that people who wanted to buy fur were "really sick", adding that that clothes brands were "nuts" to sell it.

The Government is considering plans to ban importing wild animal fur into the UK to mark its departure from the EU. This would essentially ban the sale of clothes containing fur in shops.

Fur farming was banned in 2003 but the UK still allows the product to be imported from overseas and France is one of the biggest suppliers.

Lord Goldsmith argued that Brexit meant "whatever barriers may have prevented us from raising standards on imports at the point of entry will have gone".

Leaked Defra documents seen by The Daily Telegraph showed Lord Goldsmith met with the executive director of anti-fur organisation, Humane Society International, on May 12 in which he asked if there were any areas related to the fur trade that the Government should research.

The British fur trade association will lobby against the reported ban which it described as "irrational, illiberal and misjudged".

In a report on its website, the group said: "Sales of natural fur in the UK have increased in recent years and are popular among younger age groups, as environmentally conscious consumers increasingly reject the mass-produced non-renewables epitomised by the fast fashion crisis and search out long lasting, sustainable natural materials.

"Yet, animal rights groups are now actively and vocally lobbying the British Government for fur sales to be banned in the UK using selective data, arguments and anecdotal evidence.

"Such shrill voices, of course, do not represent the 'silent majority' who do not support such a ban; opinions that should not be 'cancelled' but recognised and respected.

"Those that shout the loudest seldom have the support of the majority or their moral backing.

"Although they would never admit it, such groups would achieve their aims far better by working with the organised fur sector to drive up standards as cooperative models in other sectors have shown."

Defra said in a statement: “We have some of the highest welfare standards in the world, and that is both a source of pride and a clear reflection of UK attitudes towards animals.

“Fur farming has rightly been banned in this country for nearly 20 years. Once our future relationship with the EU has been established there will be an opportunity for the government to consider further steps it could take in relation to fur sales.”