Fur: A French nightmare

Last
July, we denounced the appalling conditions of mink detained on a farm in Eure-et-Loir. However, the particularly unbearable and
revolting images that we have published give only a partial idea of
the ordeal inflicted on these victims of the fur trade … This
week, we are revealing images filmed in the different mink farms in
our country, which testify to a generalized drama, hollow reflection
of a Parisian Fashion Week which takes its first eco-responsible
steps but continues to deny, year after year, the plight of animals
bred for their coats. In 2016, we revealed the conditions of detention and killing of minks on French farms. We hoped for an
improvement, alas there is no improvement.

An omnipresent horror

Whatever
their place of sequestration in Spincourt (Meuse), Montarlot-lès-Rioz
(Haute-Saône), La Chapelle-d’Andaine (Orne) and Champrond-en-Gâtine
(Eure-et-Loir), these mink – who by nature are solitary, eager for
space and exercise – are condemned to living in crowded and confined
conditions. Crammed into often filthy cages, they suffocate in a
squalid atmosphere where stench and despair reign supreme.

While
the porridge type meals are distributed over their heads and directly
onto the wire cages in a row, the droppings drip under the cages and
spread on the ground. Driven crazy with distress and exhaustion,
these poor prisoners spend their lives biting each other, shearing
their legs and tearing their teeth against the bars. Their injuries,
often extremely serious, remain untreated. They bleed and get
infected.

This
tenfold suffering of these abandoned souls only adds to their
stereotypical movements … to the point of exhaustion. We have
called this place “the farm of horrors” and of which our
complaint is for (among other things) acts of cruelty takes its
course, the corpses piled up on one another. Their confinement has
also led to cannibalism, non-existent in the wild. On these farms, we
see “premature” deaths which are considered as “waste”
by those who exploit these minks. Among the thousands of poor souls
doomed to a certain death, these few losses do not affect profits.

Following
the reception of a letter from the Prefecture, which was expected but
disappointing, we filed an appeal against this graceful refusal of
July 25^th,
2019 to suspend the activity or to close the Eure-et-Loir farm.

Labelled cruelty

We
cannot tolerate such monstrous acts of cruelty from continuing! They
are also causing a major ecological disaster, especially due to the
tons of excrement from animals that end up in waterways and pollute
them! Getting five farms closed is far from an insurmountable
economic challenge: other countries, such as Norway and the
Netherlands, have already embarked on this process where their fur
production is much higher. Paris Fashion Week, which opens its doors
this Monday September 23rd, is trying to make itself greener but
still refuses any progress on the use of fur in the creations
presented.

Some
major players in the fashion industry, however, committed to the last G7 in Biarritz in August 2019 around a “Fashion Pact”:
commitments in favour of the climate, biodiversity and the oceans.
Our government must have the courage to imitate its neighbours and
definitively ban this activity on our territory. 

Cruel
irony, the five national farms have all inherited the “animal
welfare” label approved by the European Union. We are going to
ask him for their accounts… Who are we kidding?! With us, express
your opposition to this organized, authorized, legitimized violence
by public authorities and politicians.

In
2019, let’s put an end to the sacrifice of animals for fur on the
altar of a bloody and archaic “fashion”. Please continue to sign and share our petition !