Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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40. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 361 of 24 March 2015, his views on the fur farming review group's conclusions; if he is satisfied with the outcome of its recommendations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26097/15]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I established a Review Group in November 2011 to examine all aspects of fur farming in Ireland.  The Terms of Reference of the Review Group were:

(i) To review fur farming in Ireland taking into account existing legislative provisions for the licensing of mink farming

(ii) To comment on the economic benefits of the sector

(iii)To consider the effectiveness of existing welfare controls, and

(iv) To make appropriate recommendations

The Review Group invited submissions from the public and interested parties and considered over four hundred submissions which were received.  By any standard, this meant that a wide spectrum of the opinions of stakeholders and interested parties was taken into account in the deliberations.

The Group recommended that fur farming should be allowed continue under licence and subject to official control.

Apart from the wide extent to which the Group consulted and the range of animal welfare, employment and other considerations of which it took account, I noted the positions adopted internationally towards fur farming and the fact that it is conducted under controls in a number of European countries. Were Ireland to ban mink farming, it would have little impact on the scale of the practice internationally generally. It would have significant consequences, however, for the operators themselves who are based in rural areas where the employment they provide would in the current economic circumstances be difficult to replace.

I also noted the small scale of the sector in Ireland; two former operators ceased to trade in the past three years and no applications have been received to establish new mink-keeping enterprises which currently means that Ireland has only three operators licensed.

My Department has statutory responsibility for the welfare and protection of farmed animals under the European Communities (Welfare of Farmed Animals) Regulations, 2010 (Statutory Instrument No 311/2010) and the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013. Irish fur farmers are subject to the same animal welfare legislation as any other livestock farmer.

Licences are time-bound and are issued under the legislation only if the applicant, following an inspection by officers from my Department, is found to be compliant with a number of conditions. The legislation allows the Minister to revoke licences in cases of non-compliance with a licence condition and where welfare conditions are not met. The Review Group recommended that more rigorous standards be imposed on the industry in the areas of animal welfare, accommodation and nutrient management.

In the light of all of the foregoing, I decided to endorse the recommendations of the Group. In my view, the analysis conducted by the Group was comprehensive and its recommendations were balanced.