APRIL 2014

Welcome to the new member's newsletter from the European Fur Information Center. The aim of this newsletter is to provide the European fur community with an understanding of the various political developments across Europe as well as keeping you updated on various fur industry projects.

New CEO of Fur Europe

FUR EUROPE. The board of the European Fur Information Center - commonly called Fur Europe - has appointed a new Chief Executive Officer to replace Mr. Bo Manderup-Jensen who has been acting CEO since September 2013.

Martina Bianchini is a Public- and Government Affairs professional with a strong background in science, technology and risk perception. She brings more than 20 years of experience in two multinational companies, agricultural supplier Monsanto and the Dow Chemical Company, the latter listed as number 166 on the global Fortune 500 list of the world’s largest companies. In various top positions within these companies, and with an emphasis on working towards sustainable development and stakeholder engagement, Martina Bianchini has delivered results in vision, strategy and policy development for sectors producing agricultural crop protection products, chemicals, biotechnology, food and pharmaceuticals.

As business delegate to the EU, UN, OECD and other international organisations, she has demonstrated leadership to create policy frameworks that foster innovation and competitiveness across the chain of commerce and life-cycles of products while taking into consideration different stakeholder points of view.  This skill set is fully transferable to the European fur industry.

“She comes from a corporate world and has lots of leadership experience as well as experience with making stakeholders meet. She also knows how NGOs and governments operate. I am convinced that she will bring the leadership we need for a bright future. She will be a great asset to the entire fur sector, not only in Europe, but all over the world,” says Chairman of Fur Europe, Kenneth Ingman.

The coming CEO looks forward to the challenges in the fur industry:

"I am very excited about the opportunity to working with Fur Europe.  My priority will be to help shape the enabling public policy environments that ensure the license and freedom to operate and grow the European fur sector into the future," she says.

Martina Bianchini is of German and Italian origin and speaks English, French as well as mother tongue German. She will officially start work on 14. April and will be present at Fur Europe’s Annual Meeting in Amsterdam where she looks forward to meeting a number of members.

The fur industry steers clear of invasive alien species list

EU. The American mink and the finnraccoon are most unlikely to be listed on the European Commission’s open list of invasive alien species (IAS) of concern to biodiversity and ecosystems in Europe. This has otherwise been a real risk to the European fur industry since the European Commission in September 2013 presented a proposal to address invasive alien species and protect European diversity. Before the final adoption of the legislation in May, the negotiations clearly indicate that European fur farmers can breathe a sigh of relief.

Should fur farmed animals against all odds be listed on the IAS list anyway, the European Fur Information Center has negotiated a permit system that will allow countries to continue the production of mink and finnraccoon.

The IAS legislation has otherwise been threatening to ultimately ban the breeding of mink and finnraccoon in Europe because the animals are non-native to Europe and especially escaped and released American mink pose a threat to local ecosystems and native species. As a backdoor to a European-wide fur ban, this argument has been strongly lobbied for by fur opponents, in particular the Humane Society International. Species on the IAS list - animals or plants - may not intentionally be brought into the territory of the European Union, nor may they be kept, bred, transported to, from or within the Union. Listed species are also prohibited from being sold, grown, bred or released into the environment.

Already before the European Commission’s proposal was published the European Fur Information Center met with the Commission (DG Environment) to present the sector’s views, and especially express concern about the economic and social impacts it would have to European communities if American mink and finnraccoon were obtained on the IAS list and banned as farming practices.

Likewise, the European Fur Information Center has had numerous meetings with Members State representatives in Brussels and Members of the European Parliament. There was no support for a general derogation for farming, but the lobby effort managed to establish support for stronger criteria. This means the legislation now emphasizes that the economic impact must be given considerably weight. Another important argument from the fur industry in the IAS discussions has been that proper fencing around fur farms make it is good as impossible for animals to escape from the farms. In extension of this, Fur Europe has initiated a biosecurity project that will look into efficient fencing measures. More information about the biosecurity project will follow. The project will also be presented at the Annual Meeting in Amsterdam.

It is still possible for Member States to do national legislation concerning IAS if it can be proved that certain species are of special national concern. In such cases the Member States can ask for cooperation from neighbor countries, but this has to be facilitated and approved by the European Commission. The main focus of EU’s IAS list will however, be on new species not yet introduced in the European Union.

Following the negotiations the EU’s Greek Presidency in March announced that it will be more than difficult to put the American mink on the list of banned species due to the strong criteria. The Regulation will be voted for final adoption in the Plenary of the European Parliament in April and in the Council of Ministers in May.

A year after the adoption of the legislation the list will be presented and the Regulation will enter into force. The list will be reviewed and updated on a regular basis with no more than six years between the reviews. The regulation will be evaluated by the European Commission 1. June 2021.

Irish fur farmers receive
long-term licenses

COUNTRIES. The three mink breeders in Ireland have received licenses to continue their businesses from the Irish Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. The licenses have been issued for one, three and five years respectively, but upon completion of the implementation of new mink farm regulations all the mink farmers can achieve five year licenses. Compared to earlier standards of license issuing this is a victory for the mink breeders in Ireland.

“It is very positive that I have got a license for three years. It is a big step forward from last year when we received a license valid for only three months. Before that we were fighting a ban on fur farming, but when we had a change of government this all changed,” says Sven Sjöholm, Chairman of the Irish Fur Breeders' Association.

Sven Sjöholm's three year license states that the requirements of new mink farm regulations must be met within a two-year period. Within the first year, 50 percent compliance with stocking density obligations must be achieved, and 100 percent compliance is required within the second year. The regulations require a maximum of two animals per standard cage, and a maximum of three animals in the so-called climbing cages which have an additional second floor. Group housing of up to four animals per cage is allowed if the cage has larger dimensions.

Within the same two-year period concrete floors with plastic channels must be built underneath the cages in order to keep the mink manure off the ground and avoid soil contamination. With concrete floors the manure can dry up and will be easy to remove.

Finally, fencing around the mink farms must be completed by the end of 2016 when fencing and security systems become mandatory. All Irish mink farms are subject to inspections without prior notification.

“We have come a long way from the threat of being banned to a brighter outlook of five-year licenses, though it would have been nice to get a license for 20 years like in other countries in Europe. All in all I think we have a bright future but of course there will always be ups and downs along the way,” Sven Sjöholm says.

In November 2012, a Fur Farming Review Group appointed by the Minister of Agriculture, Food and the Marine released a report reviewing “all aspects of fur farming”. The report concluded that the Fur Farming Review Group “did not find the arguments in favour of banning the farming of fur animals in Ireland compelling - therefore the group recommends that fur farming be allowed to continue under license an subject to official control".

You can find the report here.

Norwegian fur breeders present their case in front of key commission

COUNTRIES. In March, the Norwegian Fur Breeders´ Association presented their case in front of a professional Commission set up by the previous Norwegian red-green coalition government in October 2013. The purpose of the Commission is to analyse all aspects of the Norwegian fur farming sector and ultimately deliver a report with positions on two possible future alternatives: either sustainable development or the termination of fur farming in Norway.

Following the presentation in front of the Commission, which focused much on the Norwegian farm certification system and sustainable fur farming, the Norwegian association is generally optimistic:

“The Commission is now in the fact-finding phase, and is eager to establish a solid, scientific base for their recommendations. I am confident that the Commission in the end will present a thorough report, which will secure a fact-based political discussion on our future,” says Knut Berg, Managing Director of the Norwegian Fur Breeders´ Association. He adds that the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Ms. Sylvi Listhaug, recently stated that there are good arguments for continuing with fur farming in Norway.

The new conservative government in Norway has decided to let the Commission finish its work with the original mandate and composition of members. Needless to say, the outcome of the Commission´s work is crucial to the future of fur farming in Norway as well as the international fur community.

The Commission members are mostly in civil service or they are scientific experts, though only a few have direct experience with mink and fox farming. Besides animal welfare standards the Commission will also discuss areas like ethics, trade bans, public opinion, socio-economics and invasive species. A very active Norwegian anti-fur lobby, consisting of several animal rights associations, is trying to influence the Commission by submitting a lot of statements, which the Norwegian Fur Breeders´ Association is working to counter by answering key questions raised by the Commission. These include questions about the Norwegian farm certification system, animal behavior, animal welfare, data collection, industry structure and views on the future.

The Commission shall report by 15. December 2014. On the immediate agenda of the Commission are discussions on the ethics of fur and farm and feed kitchen visits in June and August.

Citizen's Initiative to ban fur farming in Latvia is about to be processed

COUNTRIES. A Citizen's Initiative to ban fur farming in Latvia is on its way to be processed by the Commission of Ethics, Mandate and Applications in the Latvian Parliament. In the fall 2013, animal rights advocates succeeded in gathering 10,000 signatures from Latvian citizen's which qualifies for the Citizen's Initiative's proposal to be considered.

The Commission of Ethics, Mandate and Applications will evaluate suitability and urgency of the matter by holding several sessions with parties in question - animal advocates, fur breeders, Ministry of Agriculture and other relevant stakeholders. At the moment no time schedule has been set for the Commission's work, but is is expected to last several months.

Petitions treated by the Commission of Ethics, Mandate and Applications can be either refused or delegated to other state institutions for expert opinion and evaluation, or to create a draft regulation which will then be submitted to the Parliament. There is a fair chance that the Committee will not come up with a position on this side of the parliamentary elections in October 2014.

The Latvian Fur Breeders' Association has pro-actively engaged with politicians and media through round table sessions and Open Farm schemes. The breeders are receiving strong support from the Minister of Agriculture, and generally all political parties seem supportive with no party explicitly taking a stand against fur farming. Also the Latvian public seems to be in favour of fur farming. A recent consumer survey commissioned by Latvian Fur Breeders' Association through public opinion search centre SKDS shows that 65% of the population in Latvia supports fur farming.

However, even if the Citizen's Initiative is rejected, a result of it may well be increased focus on animal welfare standards in the fur production. It is the wish of the Latvian Fur Breeders' Association that any future regulations will be based on the animal welfare assessment programme WelFur.

Another future challenge in Latvia concerns the national animal rights community which with The Netherlands as model has created a new organisation, Society Against Fur, that will seek to isolate fur from the rest of Latvian animal agriculture and will step up on the ethical arguments about ‘luxury' and ‘necessity'.

Negotiations on EU consumer label are blocked

EU. The European Commission's Regulation on Consumer Product Safety will not come to a conclusion before the end of the Greek Presidency as supposed. The Greek Presidency failed to reach an agreement for a mandate to start the trialogue negotiations between the European Parliament, the European Commission and the Member States on the product safety package. The package is blocked because the Member States cannot agree on a compromise on a 'Country of Origin' label.

The Consumer Product Safety package was published by the Commission last year and covers a broad range of issues. Of most interest to the European fur sector is the suggested Country of Origin label that was added to the package at a late stage by Commissioner Tajani (DG Enterprise). A few times earlier in the process, Mr. Tajani has pursued a consumer label - in 2012 he tried with a 'Made in' label.

Fur Europe has been concerned about the inclusion of a label on Country of Origin since the current proposal is based on the 'last economic transaction', which can mean that fur produced in Europe but manufactured in for example China will be labeled with China as Country of Origin. This leads to a lack of consumer transparency and difficulties in identifying where and under which circumstances, for example with regards to animal welfare standards, fur items have produced.

The European Parliament continues to support a Country of Origin label, but the Member States are very skeptical. The deadlock is similar to the situation in 2012, when the 'Made in' label was discussed.

Most likely, the product safety package will be picked up when the next Commission takes office in November 2014. The coming Italian Presidency has said that it will try to find a compromise, but many Member States are against this, as they think the Italians are too biased in the discussion. Italy is in favour of the Country of Origin label, but given the resistance from other Member States the Italian Presidency may try to reach an agreement on the product safety package without the label. This will not have any impact on the European fur industry.

Analysis: Unpredictable new European Parliament calls for pro-activity

EU. This year the European citizens will once again decide on the composition of European Parliament (EP) for next five years. The elections will be held in 28 member states and will last from 22. to 25. May 2014. In accordance with the Lisbon Treaty, 751 members will be taking their seat in Brussels after the elections.

Although the poll results swing, we can clearly see some of the tendencies that will give a new shape to the EP. First of all, a sharp decrease of European People's Party group (EPP) seats and the rise of the group of Socialists & Democrats (S&D) will bring these two traditionally biggest parties neck-to-neck with only a slight of either lead of either, as the latest poll for the first time in a while showed EPP likely to win over S&D by some 15 seats. Then, the traditionally third biggest group, Alliance for Liberals and Democrats in Europe (ALDE) will have to struggle hard to defend their third place from far-left group European United Left/Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL). This is in fact a part of a long-term trend of centrist parties losing positions to far-left and far-right parties, mainly as a result of growing euro-skepticism and citizens' declining trust in EU institutions. Therefore, despite of far-left growth we will witness a sharp rise in numbers of far-right parties' representatives, such as British UKIP or French Front National.

In result, the EP is likely to be more difficult to manage than it has been until now and will be more likely to find itself in a stalemate. If, as some opinion polls suggests, as many as 90 non-attached MEPs will take seat in the next EP, the institution can become rather unreadable and it will be more difficult to forecast the outcomes of voting. Similarly, in appointing the Commission important questions arise. Will the socialists win the election but not be able to promote Martin Schultz as Commission president due to a wide opposition? Will liberals support EPP in this case?

For the fur sector this is a delicate balance and a potential threat to the relatively stable political climate we have experienced in Brussels since the ban on import of seal products in 2009. Seemingly the polls are not too optimistic as a slight move to the left is observed - and GUE/NGL members and Greens as well as a significant part of socialists are traditionally anti-fur oriented. In addition, many far-right parties tend to support immigration values with popular views on animal welfare.

The only way for the fur industry to meet this threat is to count the votes and start winning them over one by one. Like other parliamentary votes, the EP votes are dependent on industries pro-actively engaging with politicians. Fur Europe has set the strategic goal of approaching new EP candidates prior to the elections because this may be defining for a susceptible and responsive parliamentary environment in Brussels the next five years.

The national responsibility is to actively secure that as many MEP candidates as possible are aware of our sector and challenges, and to give the candidates a personal experience with the fur industry and its representatives in as many countries as possible. In the right political environment, political decisions are based on reliable information and facts of which we have many to give in the European fur sector. The important options when engaging with possible new MEPs are:

• EP candidates to visit fur farms, workshops, fashion shows, fur auctions and exhibitions.
• Deliver personal angle of the fur industry to EP candidates.
• Distribute printed information material to EP candidates (in addition to any national material the yellow Fur Book as well as WelFur brochures can be send to you from the Fur Europe office).
• Hand out minor fur accessories to EP candidates.

Counting in the fact that many new faces are likely to be elected MEPs, we think that the right amount of national effort during the election campaigns may prove critical in order to influence the European Parliament in favour of the fur industry until 2019.

The European Fur Information Center to be launched in Amsterdam

FUR EUROPE. By 15 April 2014, a new association – the European Fur Information Center or Fur Europe in short – will be born, following the endorsement by the Annual General Meeting of the European Fur Breeders' Association (EFBA) in Amsterdam.

Fur Europe is the result of an agreement between EFBA and the International Fur Federation (IFF) on the creation of a joint European association with its head quarter in Brussels. The new association has already been accepted by the IFF Council Meeting.

The objectives of the new association combine those of EFBA and IFF. It is to promote, represent and defend the interests of the European fur sector. Fur Europe represents the entire fur supply chain: farmers, auction houses, brokers, buyers, dressers and dyers, designers, manufacturers, wholesalers, marketing organisations and retailers.

Fur Europe ensures a more powerful and resourceful presence in Europe with a united fur industry speaking with one voice. Fur Europe is both politically and financially independent from IFF, but the need for a close cooperation between the two associations is acknowledged.

The Fur Europe board consists of five members from the trade, three representatives from the European fur producers and the two European auction houses.

The existing joint office of IFF and EFBA in Brussels with its staff and a new CEO will continue as Fur Europe.

EFBA will continue to exist, but as a platform for exchange of information and best practices. EFBA will meet annually and elect its representatives on the board of Fur Europe. The actual work will be carried out by Fur Europe and its staff.

WelFur fox protocol to be printed this spring

FUR EUROPE. The scientific foundation for the European animal welfare assessment programme for foxes - the WelFur assessment protocol for fox - is due to go to print in April or May. The welfare assessment protocol for mink were printed in September 2013, and with the fox protocols at place the road to the pan-European implementation of WelFur is open.

At the moment the practical assessment of both fox and mink farms is being tested in Finland and Denmark. This work is being done to calibrate the assessments and make sure the score system is feasible at farm level.

The animal welfare assessment programme for fur farmed species is developed by independent scientists from seven European universities and institutions, and as a pan-continental animal welfare programme it is by far the most comprehensive of its kind in the world.

With the WelFur programme, European mink and fox farms will be assessed through 22 and 23 different measures respectively, and about half of these measures are so-called animal based indicators. Since we are not able to ask the animals directly, the animal based indicators are, popularly speaking, an indirect way to ask the animals whether the housing conditions provide good animal welfare. In short, the measurements assess how the animals respond to the housing environment. One example is a measurement that precisely assesses how the animal reacts to human contact. Is it curious, a sign of good animal welfare? Or is the animal aggressive or afraid of humans - a sign of poor animal welfare?

The farm assessment ultimately ends up with a score ranging from 0 to 100 where the score range 80-100 correspond to ‘the best current practice’ - or very good animal welfare standards. The outcome of the farm assessment has three potential uses. First of all, WelFur is a reliable, scientifically valid method to assess animal welfare standards on the individual farm. Given that European fur farmers are able to demonstrate good animal welfare on their farms, this is a tool to convince politicians and others that the fur industry takes animal welfare seriously, and that animal welfare standards are high. In addition, opponents of the fur industry will have a very hard time arguing against the scientific foundation of WelFur.

Secondly, the WelFur programme is a toolbox for mink and fox farmers to analyse where they can improve animal welfare on the farm. If, for instance, too many animals on a fur farm react poorly to human contact, it will be clear to the farmer that she can improve the general animal welfare standard on the farm by selecting for curious animals. Thirdly, the data set collected through the farm assessments is an opportunity to provide transparency to the public about the welfare standards on European fur farms, for example by publishing the national scores.

The implementation of WelFur will begin in some countries in 2015.