Finland’s largest political party – and political home of the nation’s Prime Minister – has voted internally to end fur farming and the sale of fur, according to advocacy organizations.
Animalia and Justice for Animals (both members of the Fur Free Alliance, as is The Fur-Bearers) are celebrating the vote held by the Social Democratic party of Finland (SDP) during their party congress on August 24, 2020.
“The SDP is Finland’s largest party, and their newly confirmed party leader Sanna Marin is Finland’s current Prime Minister,” explain the organizations in a joint news release. “The ruling party’s decision comes at a time when the acceptability of fur farming is increasingly questioned both among EU citizens and in daily politics. Out of the five parties in Government, the Green Party and the Left Party are also officially against fur farming.”
Finland is the top fox fur producing nation in the world and ranks among the top for overall fur production; foxes are killed by anal electrocution. Numerous European nations have fur farming bans in place or are transitioning out the industry, including Denmark, Germany, Czech Republic and the Netherlands (see a full list here).
“There is still a lot of work to be done so that this party position does not turn into an empty promise," saysKristo Muurimaaof Justice for Animals.
This announcement shows that inevitable change is headed for the fur industry; it means millions of lives a year will not be slaughtered for fashion. Thank you to the hard work of our partners in Europe for this news and all they do to #MakeFurHistory!
