Poland has become the 18th country in the European Union to ban fur farming after President Karol Nawrocki officially signed the historic legislation into law. The decision marks a massive victory for animal welfare as Poland is Europe’s largest fur-producing country and the world’s second largest after China, raising and killing around 3 million mink, fox, raccoon dog and chinchilla annually for their fur. The ban comes weeks after a damning European Food Safety Authority report concluded that animal suffering is systemic on fur farms and that keeping animals for their whole lives in small barren wire cages cannot meet basic animal welfare needs.
Poland’s 200 existing fur farms have until January 2034 to close, although many are expected to shut down earlier as compensation is being offered to farms that close within the first five years. Iga Głażewska-Bromant, Poland director at Humane World for Animals Europe, celebrated the victory by noting that fur farming is not part of Polish heritage and most Poles oppose fur cruelty, as evidenced by the more than 76,000 petition signatures recently submitted to the president’s office. The ban further isolates the last few remaining EU Member States that still allow fur farming, notably Finland, Denmark, Spain, Hungary and Greece, with more than 6 million animals currently kept on almost 1,200 fur farms across the EU.
Recent research reveals that the carbon footprint of 1kg of mink fur is 31 times higher than cotton and 26 times higher than acrylic, while a full-cost analysis shows fur farming is costing EU citizens as much as €446 million annually. Over 1,600 fashion brands and retailers worldwide have now committed to being fur-free, including Max Mara, Gucci, Prada, Versace, Burberry and Chanel, choosing instead to innovate with sustainable and cruelty-free alternatives.
