Two-Thirds of Canadians Support a Ban on Fur Farming, Survey Finds

MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwired - Dec. 17, 2014) - In the wake of a new survey showing that 68 percent of Canadians with an opinion support a ban on fur farming in Canada, Humane Society International/Canada is renewing its call for a federal prohibition.

Gabriel Wildgen, campaign manager for HSI/Canada, said: "Factory fur farming is cruel and exists to produce a luxury product no one needs. It is time our government listened to the majority of Canadians who want Canada to join the other nations that have already banned this inhumane industry. It only adds insult to injury that federal and provincial governments continue to waste taxpayer dollars to heavily subsidize an industry that Canadians clearly oppose."

Each year, more than 2.5 million wild animals, primarily minks and foxes, are raised on Canadian factory fur farms. They are confined for their entire lives in tiny, barren wire cages that prevent them from engaging in their most basic natural behaviours, such as roaming, swimming and burrowing. The deprivation caused by intensive confinement in cages can contribute to neurotic behaviours-like repetitive spinning and head-bobbing-and self-mutilation. Before they reach one year of age, the animals are killed by gassing or anal electrocution. Veterinary experts agree that the terrible conditions on factory fur farms lead to severe psychological and physical distress.

Factory fur farming is also harmful to the environment. Fur farms generate vast amounts of waste runoff, polluting groundwater and rivers, while toxic chemicals such as chromium and formaldehyde are used to prevent the decomposition of fur. The production and treatment of fur creates more greenhouse gasses, and water and air pollution, than any other textile.
HSI/Canada is calling on the Ministry of Agriculture and Agri-Food to ban fur farming in Canada. Austria, Croatia, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom have already prohibited fur farming.

HSI/Canada is urging the public to help call for a ban on fur farming by following the 'Take Action' link at hsicanada.ca/furfree.

Polling firm Leger collected the data between Dec. 1st and Dec. 4th, 2014, on the Internet via secured access to the online questionnaire hosted on Leger's servers. A total of 1,545 residents of Canada, 18 years of age or older, took part in the study. Results are weighted by age, gender and region to ensure accurate representation, as reported by Statistics Canada.

Facts:

• A majority of respondents in every region of Canada support a ban on fur farming in Canada.
• The strongest support for a ban was in Quebec, where more than 75 percent of respondents with an opinion were in favour of banning fur farming.
• Only 12 percent of respondents strongly oppose a fur ban in Canada.
• Recent news reports revealed that the federal and provincial governments have already spent over $20 million dollars bailing out fur farms that are not able to cover their costs due to plummeting fur prices caused by a global drop in demand this year. This is in addition to the federal and provincial tax dollars already regularly spent on promoting and subsidizing the fur industry.
• There are at least 289 known fur farms in Canada.
• In the wild, minks roam over a territory more than three square kilometres and spend the majority of their time swimming.
• Wild foxes live in small social groups with clearly established hierarchical structures. They have a large territory, roaming several kilometres each day, and spend much of their time burrowing.

Humane Society International/Canada is a leading force for animal protection, with active programs in companion animals, wildlife and habitat protection, marine mammal preservation, farm animal welfare and animals in research. HSI/Canada is proud to be a part of Humane Society International which, together with its partners, constitutes one of the world's largest animal protection organizations. Celebrating animals and confronting cruelty worldwide - on the Web at www.hsicanada.ca