Robert Dowds (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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Question 758: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his policy with regard to fur farming; the monitoring there is of fur farming; the value of fur farming to the economy; the extent of damage done by captive furred animals such as mink when they escape; and if he has any plans to ban the practice of fur farming. [1370/12]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Under the Musk Rats Act, 1933 (application to Mink) order 1965, the keeping of mink is prohibited except under licence from my Department. Licences are issued under this legislation only if the applicant, following an inspection, is found to be compliant with a number of conditions. Licensed fur farms are inspected by officials from my Department to assess compliance with the Council of Europe recommendations concerning fur animals and Council Directive 98/58/EC concerning the protection of animals kept for farming purposes.

My Department holds no data on the economic value of the fur industry in Ireland. This information may be obtained from the Central Statistics Office. As part of the licensing conditions, Mink farmers endeavour to prevent animals escaping into the wild by stock-proofing their holdings. Responsibility for wild mink rests with the National Parks and Wildlife Service.

Finally, regarding the issue of fur farming itself, I established a Review Group in my Department last November 2011 to review all aspects of the farming activity. The Terms of Reference of the Group are:

1. To review fur farming in Ireland taking into account existing legislative provisions for the licensing of mink farming

2. To comment on the economic benefits of the sector

3. To consider the effectiveness of existing welfare controls, and

4. To make appropriate recommendations

Submissions were invited on the review with a closing date for receipt of submissions of 31st December 2011. A large number of submissions have now been received from interested parties and these are currently being examined by the Review Group. The Group will submit its report to me by the end of January and I will consider what action, if any, to take following the submission and conclusions of the Group's findings.