12/23/16 Dutch no to Fur
The adjudication of the Supreme Court of the Netherlands as a model to Croatian legislators
- Despite being the world's fourth largest fur producer, the Netherlands heeded public opinion and said no to fur farmers
Great news for animals comes from the Netherlands. The Supreme Court of the Netherlands issued a final adjudication which makes it clear to fur farmers that they have no legal grounds for striking down the fur farming ban. It concluded that there was a fair balance between protecting the farmers' fundamental rights and serving the public interest, which is the purpose of law. This ended the complicated legal battle which fur farmers unsuccessfully fought against the Netherlands. The country banned fur farming in 2013.
The Netherlands was the world’s fourth largest fur producer. It allowed a phase-out period so that all fur farmers can stop producing. Despite the economic interest, the country banned fur farming solely due to the "attitude that it is ethically unacceptable to farm animals for fur!"
The Netherlands banned the farming of chinchillas in 1997 due to the inability to achieve the adequate standards of animal welfare. Nothing is stopping Croatia to enforce the ban on fur farming of chinchillas on New Year's Day and thus end fur farming in the country.
Hardly any public hearing has received such a degree of public interest and large number of comments as was the case with the recently held public hearing about the amendment of the Animal Protection Act. The farmers demanded an expedited extension of the 10-year phase-out period for one extra year. With over 700 posted comments, the public again decisively and uncompromisingly stood against fur farming and the extension of the phase-out period! People expect the fur farming ban to come into force on January 1, 2017, in accordance with the law, and make Croatia proud.
If the Netherlands, a country with a significant fur production, managed to ban fur farming because it respects public opinion, then Croatia, where a handful of fur farmers is trying to manipulate the law, should do the same.
In 2015, Inez Staarink, Policy Advisor on Agriculture, Nature, Animals and Food – Dutch Parliament, called the MEPs to support the bans in EU member states and to prohibit the expansion of fur farms: "The Netherlands will no longer export fur, but instead we will export bans on fur farming."
We believe that Croatia will also start the upcoming year with this positive message to the world!
