Fur: an industry in sharp decline
The fur industry – more specifically, raising animals for their fur – is currently in global decline. Quebec is no exception: in 1982, the province had 226 registered fur farms; in 2022, only three remain: one raising foxes and the other two, minks1,2. The value of fur has also gone down. For instance, the average sale price of a mink pelt in Quebec fell by 64% between 2012 and 20183.
In the fashion world, big brands are dropping fur clothing from their collections as fur production becomes less and less socially acceptable. According to a survey conducted in February 2022, roughly three quarters of Canadians would support a national ban on fur farming,4 while the majority of Quebec citizens would like to see fur farms banned in the province (Online survey of 1,015 Quebecers conducted by Leger Marketing on behalf of TACT from May 6 to 9, 2022).
The situation elsewhere
Over 15 countries have banned fur farming, including the UK (2020), the Netherlands (2023), the Czech Republic (2019), Norway (2019), Belgium (2019), France (2021), Italy (2021) and, most recently, Ireland (2022).
In Canada, British Columbia became the first province to ban mink farming for fur in 2021, a decision motivated by the rise of COVID-19 cases in these types of farms.
In 2015, the National Assembly of Quebec unanimously adopted the Act to Improve the Legal Situation of Animals, which modified the Civil Code of Quebec to recognize that animals are not “things”, but rather “sentient beings” with “biological needs”. Quebec law also recognizes that, as a society, we have a collective responsibility to ensure animals’ welfare. As such, it is no longer acceptable in Quebec to inflict pain on animals for the sole purpose of producing a luxury textile, which is absolutely unnecessary.
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Photo credits: Jo-Anne McArthur | We Animals
