From Cage to Contagion
|
Kelly Guerin/We Animals Media
|
What becomes of the millions of skinless bodies produced by the global fur industry? Beyond the cruelty of confinement and slaughter, the One Health risks associated with fur farming extend to every stage of the fur farming process. From overcrowded cages teeming with opportunities for disease amongst animals that are stressed and often ill, the mixing of different species, to the handling, storage, and transport of bloodied carcasses, each step presents an ideal opportunity for new pathogens to emerge, evolve, spread and spill over into human, as well as wild and domestic animal populations. And the problems don't stop after the animals have been killed. The disposal of these bodies — numbering in the tens of millions each year — poses significant health threats that remain largely unspoken. While some are incinerated, many are stockpiled, dumped, or worse, repurposed In China, for example, trials are underway to use the animals’ remains as livestock feed or to "recycle" them as food within fur farms. If adopted, such practices would introduce a profusion of serious public health risks with the potential for global consequences.
A new report, entitled Fur Animals as Livestock Feed by Dr. Barbara Maas, Founder and CEO of People for Nature and Peace, explores these dangers through a One Health lens. It reveals a complex web of threats that emerge when carcasses from mink, foxes, and raccoon dogs are used as feed for poultry, pigs, cattle and other herbivores, or even other animals on fur farms.
A new report, entitled Fur Animals as Livestock Feed by Dr. Barbara Maas, Founder and CEO of People for Nature and Peace, explores these dangers through a One Health lens. It reveals a complex web of threats that emerge when carcasses from mink, foxes, and raccoon dogs are used as feed for poultry, pigs, cattle and other herbivores, or even other animals on fur farms.
The Scale of the International Fur Trade
Mink on a fur farm in Poland.
Despite enormous ethical concerns and growing public opposition, the global fur trade remains a billion-dollar industry. Each year, over 100 million animals, including mink, foxes, raccoon dogs, and chinchillas, are killed for their pelts. The vast majority of these animals are raised in confinement on intensive commercial fur farms, where conditions fall short of even the most basic animal welfare standards.
A growing number of countries have either banned or phased out farming animals for fur. global fur exports of raw fur, processed garments, and luxury accessories have been valued at some 22 billion US Dollars a year. While China remains the largest importer of pelts and exporter of finished fur products, United States, Canada and Russia also continue as significant players in the industry. In the EU too, fur farms remain legal in several countries such as, Poland, Denmark, Finland and Greece.
The fur industry is driven by consumer demand in high-income markets, though trends show a gradual decline in support by fashion houses , with even major brands cutting fur from their collections. While several countries have made efforts to end fur farming, the global trade continues to thrive, posing a myriad of health risks that go far beyond animal suffering to include human, environmental and animal health. In the first of two reports People for Nature and Peace has begun to shine a light on this neglected yet critically important issue.
A growing number of countries have either banned or phased out farming animals for fur. global fur exports of raw fur, processed garments, and luxury accessories have been valued at some 22 billion US Dollars a year. While China remains the largest importer of pelts and exporter of finished fur products, United States, Canada and Russia also continue as significant players in the industry. In the EU too, fur farms remain legal in several countries such as, Poland, Denmark, Finland and Greece.
The fur industry is driven by consumer demand in high-income markets, though trends show a gradual decline in support by fashion houses , with even major brands cutting fur from their collections. While several countries have made efforts to end fur farming, the global trade continues to thrive, posing a myriad of health risks that go far beyond animal suffering to include human, environmental and animal health. In the first of two reports People for Nature and Peace has begun to shine a light on this neglected yet critically important issue.
Fashioned for Disaster: Fur, Disease & Ecological Fallout
Raccoon dogs and mink are forced into crowded, uncomfortable housing on a fur farm in China. Such conditions, including the mixing of species that would normally not have contact, foster disease risks that can affect us all.
Fur farming is not only an animal welfare issue; it also threatens public health and the environment. From a One Health perspective — a globally endorsed framework emphasizing the interdependence of human, animal, and environmental health — the industry poses a host of significant risks. At its core, One Health recognizes that the health of people is closely tied to that of animals and the ecosystems we share. In short, it is impossible to have healthy people on a sick planet. The One Health approach underscores the reality that human health is inextricably linked to animal health and the well-being of the environment, meaning that diseases affecting one can easily spill over to others.
On fur farms, animals such as mink, foxes, and raccoon dogs and rabbits are kept in overcrowded, stressful environments that are ideal breeding grounds for a host of existing and new infectious diseases. These animals are susceptible to pathogens, including viruses, that can also infect humans, making them potential intermediary hosts for zoonotic diseases — pathogens that make the jump from animal to human hosts.
On fur farms, animals such as mink, foxes, and raccoon dogs and rabbits are kept in overcrowded, stressful environments that are ideal breeding grounds for a host of existing and new infectious diseases. These animals are susceptible to pathogens, including viruses, that can also infect humans, making them potential intermediary hosts for zoonotic diseases — pathogens that make the jump from animal to human hosts.
These dangers were tragically evident during the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Mink farms in the Netherlands and Denmark were found to harbour SARS-CoV-2, with multiple documented cases of the virus spreading from humans to mink and back again to humans. In Denmark, this led to the culling of nearly 17 million mink and a temporary shutdown of the entire industry. These incidents underscore the potential for fur farms to act as viral reservoirs, facilitating mutations and the emergence of potentially more dangerous strains. More recently, avian influenza (H5N1), too was confirmed on mink farms in Europe, including cases where this originally avian virus was passed on from mammal-to-mammal. Such new transmission routes pose a significant concern because they indicate a bird virus's ability to adapt to spreading among mammals, including humans.
"Although the threat may appear small to some people, the immense number of animals affected and the inevitable violence involved in fur farming, places all of us at risk for the sake of something no one needs - apart from the animals that were born with it."
People for Nature & Peace Founder Dr Barbara Maas
Fur farms also contribute to risk of environmental degradation. Waste products, such as faeces, urine, blood, carcasses and uneaten food can contaminate the soil and water. Antibiotics and chemicals used to prop up the animals' ailing bodies add to these problems and can foster antimicrobial resistance (AMR). AMR develops when bacteria, viruses and other pathogens become immune to antimicrobial medicines, such as the antibiotics we rely on to treat infections, one of today's most serious global health problems. In light of these intersecting risks, the continuation of fur farming must be seen as incompatible with global health goals; in other words, something we, the world and the unfortunate animals that are trapped in this frivolous industry could well do without. Under the One Health concept, protecting human, animal and environmental health means re-evaluating and phasing out practices that threaten it. With this in mind, we have started to investigate how the masses of skinned bodies the global fur industry produces each year are disposed of.
A Silent Threat: Feeding Fur Farm Carcasses to Livestock
While the obvious cruelty of fur farming increasingly sparks opposition, a lesser - known but alarming practice is emerging in its shadow: the use of fur-farmed carnivore carcasses in livestock feed. This practice - whether proposed or already occurring in some jurisdictions - poses enormous risks to human and animal health, global food systems, and environmental safety. Our new report explores the dangers associated with repurposing carcasses from mink, foxes, and raccoon dogs as feed for poultry, pigs, cattle and other herbivores, or even other animals on fur farms in the wake of ongoing trials in China.
Key Findings of the Report
|
People for Nature & Peace's report is a stark reminder that the true cost of fur extends far beyond the cruelty inflicted on the animals that are caught up in it but reaches into the very fabric of global health. It is a call to action, not just to end fur farming but to prohibit the introduction of carnivore remains into animal feed chains. These practices are public health crises waiting to happen. The question is: what will we, as global citizens, do to break this dangerous cycle?
