As more and more European countries turn their backs on the cruel fur industry, Italy remains dramatically behind: while production is banned, imports are still allowed. This is the key message from a recent article published by the Lithuanian portal Delfi.lt, part of the international PULSE project, which documents the ongoing advance of the ethical movement against fur farming.
According to the report, starting January 1, 2027, Lithuania will definitively ban the keeping, breeding, sale, and any transfer of animals for fur production. The law has already come into force at the beginning of this year. It is an irreversible process, driven by political will, strong civic engagement, and the tireless work of environmental groups such as Empty Cages.
Demonstrating its commitment, the Lithuanian Ministry of Agriculture has introduced a scaled compensation system for breeders who voluntarily exit the industry before 2027: €3 per animal in 2024, €2 in 2025, and €1 in 2026. The government will also fully cover dismantling costs and worker transition support.
At ENPA, we have always denounced the moral unacceptability of breeding and killing animals for mere aesthetic whims. It is an outdated practice that contradicts the most basic principles of animal dignity and respect. Yet in Italy, fur farming was only formally banned in 2022, under legislation that does not include a true ban on trade and imports. That is not enough.
Lithuania’s decision shows that a different path is possible — and that politics can and must respond to citizens’ growing sensitivity against the pointless exploitation of animals. Now it is time for Italy to act consistently and ban the sale and marketing of fur, as several other European countries have already done.
In many EU member states — from Belgium to the Netherlands, Estonia to Austria — fur farming is a thing of the past, swept away by bold and forward-thinking legislation. In many cases, farms closed even before the laws came into force due to increasingly stringent animal welfare standards.
The message is clear: fur production has no future in a continent that wishes to call itself civilised. Italy and the European Union as a whole must take a firm stand to finally outlaw an industry that is cruel, unsustainable, and ethically indefensible.
🐾 European countries that have banned fur farming
Over the past two decades, many European countries have passed laws banning the farming of animals for fur, recognising the severe ethical and welfare concerns involved.
🇦🇹 Austria
• Ban year: 2005
• Details: Enacted via the Federal Animal Protection Act, making fur farming economically unviable.
🇧🇪 Belgium
• Ban year: 2018
• Details: Gradual ban implemented across Wallonia (2015), Brussels (2017), and Flanders (2018). Last fur farm closed in 2022.
🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Ban year: 2018
• Details: Came into force after a 10-year transition period, despite industry efforts to delay it.
🇭🇷 Croatia
• Ban year: 2017
• Details: Total ban after a 10-year transition period beginning in 2007.
🇨🇿 Czech Republic
• Ban year: 2019
• Details: Adopted in 2017, came into effect in 2019. Bans all fur farms.
🇩🇰 Denmark
• Ban year: 2009 (foxes)
• Details: Ban on fox farming with a transition period until 2023 for farms heavily reliant on fox fur.
🇪🇪 Estonia
• Ban year: 2021
• Details: Takes effect in 2025, banning all fur farms.
🇫🇷 France
• Ban year: 2021
• Details: Ban on farming American mink and other wild species solely for fur.
🇮🇪 Ireland
• Ban year: 2022
• Details: Total ban, with the last mink farms closed in the same year.
🇮🇹 Italy
• Ban year: 2021
• Details: Total ban entered into force in 2022.
🇱🇻 Latvia
• Ban year: 2022
• Details: Total ban with a transition period until 2028.
🇱🇹 Lithuania
• Ban year: 2023
• Details: Total ban with transition period until 2027.
🇱🇺 Luxembourg
• Ban year: 2018
• Details: Total ban.
🇲🇹 Malta
• Ban year: 2022
• Details: Total ban, although no active fur farms existed.
🇳🇱 Netherlands
• Ban year: 2013
• Details: Total ban, with early closure of mink farms in 2021 due to COVID-19 outbreaks.
🇳🇴 Norway
• Ban year: 2018
• Details: Total ban with transition until 2025.
🇸🇰 Slovakia
• Ban year: 2019
• Details: Total ban with transition until 2025.
🇸🇮 Slovenia
• Ban year: 2013
• Details: Total ban entered into force in 2015.
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
• Ban year: 2000
• Details: First country in the world to ban fur farming, via the Fur Farming (Prohibition) Act 2000.
📌 Countries with restrictions or strict regulations
Some countries have not implemented a full ban but have introduced such strict regulations that fur farming is no longer economically viable:
• 🇩🇪 Germany:
Severe rules introduced in 2017 led to the closure of the last mink farm in 2019.
• 🇸🇪 Sweden:
Animal welfare standards have made fox and chinchilla farming economically unsustainable.
• 🇨🇭 Switzerland:
Laws require such high welfare conditions that no commercial fur farms operate.
