Dáil debates

Thursday, 4 November 2021

Animal Health and Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2021: Second Stage

 

3:25 pm

Photo of Patricia RyanPatricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The programme for Government includes a commitment to bring forward legislation that prohibits fur farming in the State and this Bill is a welcome development.

While fur farming was once legal and socially acceptable in most countries there is now a broad consensus that certain animals should not be farmed for their fur because of serious animal welfare concerns that cannot be addressed. There are just three active farms in the State that breed and rear mink for the purposes of pelting for the fur industry. The tide is turning against fur farming. It is already banned in Austria, Croatia, the Netherlands, Britain and the Czech Republic. It will be illegal in Norway from February 2025. We must ensure this legislation is dealt with swiftly. Each December approximately 80% of mink are killed, leaving approximately 20% as breeding stock. This will leave approximately 24,000 mink in the country in the new year. Currently, there are 120,000 mink here. We must ensure this year is the last breeding season. There are alternatives to fur for those who want them. There is a material new to the market called Koba Fur. It is a bio-based fur made not from petroleum oil but from oil from vegetable crops. There is recycled faux fur. Making use of what we already have and reducing landfill and pollution is critical to an environmentally friendly future.

The main purpose of this Bill is the statutory prohibition of fur farming. It will impact on three farms in the State, including one in County Laois, which are currently operating lawful businesses. For this reason, the legislation makes provision for a scheme of compensation to be made available to them. These provisions of the Bill govern the nature of the compensation scheme that can be provided to ensure mink farm operators are to be compensated for losses and costs directly resulting from the prohibition of fur farming in Ireland. The Bill sets out criteria upon which compensation for income loss, non-income loss and certain costs will be payable. I would like to see a retaining fund put in place for the 30 to 40 workers between the three farms. There must be a just transition for them. Mink are an invasive species and it can only help our biodiversity to have all mink removed from the country. Perhaps the former workers could assist in helping remove escaped wild mink, which are wreaking havoc on local ecology, before being retrained. I for one will be glad to see an end to this activity and we need to take action for the animals' sake.

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