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Fur imported and sold in UK should be banned - MP

Bethan James
BBC News
BBC Two women stand in a shop with the walls lined with different coloured fur jackets. One woman is standing side-on, she is wearing a light brown fur jacket. She has her hair slicked-back into a plait. A woman stands behind her and holds the back of the coat, she appears to be inspecting it. She has brown hair pulled back into a ponytail and is wearing a white top. BBC
One vintage fur shop says the demand for the product is growing

Fur imported and sold in the UK should be banned, an MP has said.

While fur farming has been banned in Wales and England since 2000, many types of fur are still legally imported and sold.

Ruth Jones, Labour MP for Newport West and Islwyn, has introduced a Private Members' Bill to Parliament that would prohibit the import and sale of new fur products.

The British Fur Trade Association (BFTA) accused Jones of being the "wardrobe police", adding the ban would be "unenforceable and unworkable" and may breach trade agreements with the EU and the US.

Jones said: "Twenty years ago, a Labour government banned fur farming because it was cruel and inhumane.

"If we think it's cruel and inhumane to farm it, why are we importing it? It doesn't make sense."

The MP added: "Caged animals are kept in dreadful, inhumane conditions just to provide fur for a declining industry.

"Faux fur could do the job just as well."

Sonul Badiani-Hamment, UK director for animal welfare organisation Four Paws, recently presented a petition with one-and-a-half million signatures in support of a fur-free Britain, alongside other campaigners.

"There isn't any justification for the cruelty experienced by these animals on fur farms," she said.

"Country after country are leaving the market. Sweden recently committed to decommissioning the fur trade entirely."

The British Fashion Council attended one of the campaign group's events in Parliament to support the proposed bill, she said.

Doug Peters/Humane World for Animals Ruth Jones stands beside two women wearing white shirts that say #FurFreeBritain. Ms Jones is holding a cardboard box with the same words on the outside. She is smiling and is wearing a pink and blue patterned shirt. She has shoulder-length blond hair. The woman to her left has shoulder-length brown hair and is smiling. The woman to Ruth's right has long dark-brown hair and is also smiling. The trio are stood outside Number 10Doug Peters/Humane World for Animals
Ruth Jones is calling for a ban on the import and sale of new fur, reigniting a long-standing debate over animal welfare, fashion, and sustainability

Ms Badiani-Hamment said she had noticed the fashion industry changing, adding there were "very few designers left in the country handling fur".

"It's just not desirable."

But Mel Kaplan, who works at Vintage Fur Garden in London, said demand for vintage fur was growing.

"We have queues going out the door in the winter," she said.

"Over the past three years, there's been a resurgence in the want for vintage fur.

"I think younger people especially are looking more to vintage clothing in general. I think fast fashion has taken a decline in popularity."

Furriers in the UK sell a variety of fur that has been imported from other countries.

The import or export of cat and dog fur, and products containing their fur, is banned. There is also a ban on selling cat and dog fur in the UK market.

The new bill calls for a ban on all new fur being imported or sold in the UK and would not apply to vintage items.

Ms Kaplan said all the coats and jackets in their store were from the 1950s, 60s, 70s, and 80s.

Mel Kaplan smiles at the camera. Visible behind her is a rack of fur coats in shades of white, cream, black and brown. Mel has her hair slicked-back into a ponytail and is wearing three layered necklaces and a satin shirt over a white T-shirt. It is a head and shoulders shot of her.
Mel Kaplan says vintage fur is sustainable and will degrade "back into the earth" when it is thrown away

The shop has a rigorous process when acquiring fur products to ensure that what they are selling is vintage, not new fur, she added.

Ms Kaplan also said vintage fur was sustainable, adding: "If it were to be discarded, it would go back into the earth, everything - all the fibres and the fur is natural.

"I don't support the making of new furs, I don't support the farming and I don't support the sale of it, but I can get behind a piece that was already made with the intention of being worn so it can carry on being worn."

In a statement, the BFTA warned that a ban could cost thousands of skilled British jobs.

"Standards in the fur sector are among the highest of any form of animal husbandry with rigorous and comprehensive animal welfare standards, third-party inspection and strict international and national laws," it said.

"Fur is popular as evidenced by the number of young people choosing to wear it who are rejecting oil-based fast fashions often made in sweatshop conditions.

"MPs like Ruth Jones should respect that others are happy to wear high-welfare fur, rather than acting like the wardrobe police."

The second reading of the bill is expected to take place in Parliament on 4 July.

Meanwhile, the UK government said it was building a "clear evidence base to inform future action", with an updated animal welfare strategy due to be published later this year.