Dutch Parliament Seeks Mink Farm Ban

FUR COMMISSION USA PRESS RELEASE, JULY 2, 1999
Dutch Parliament Seeks Mink Farm Ban
The International Fur Trade Federation in London informs us that on July 1, the Dutch Parliament passed a motion, 76 to 70, urging the government to ban fur farming.
Prior to the vote, the new Minister of Agriculture, L.J. Brinkhorst, stated to the Agricultural Committee that he is opposed to mink farming on ethical grounds but, as a governmental minister, he is obliged to continue the policy set out by his predecessor, a policy which allows for fur farming.
It is now up to Brinkhorst to decide how to proceed, and he has already indicated that he will raise the matter at the European level. IFTF member countries, of course, need to evaluate what is the most effective way to secure a positive outcome for the international fur farming industry.
The wording (translated) of the Dutch Parliament Motion calling for a ban on mink farming follows:
The Second Chamber, having heard the deliberations,
Recognizing the fact that mink are by nature solitary living animals and that their welfare is harmed in fur production;
Recognizing that keeping mink on farms is meant for fur production;
Recognizing that the purpose of fur production does not justify a continuation of mink farming;
Calls upon the government to put a stop to the growth of mink farming as soon as possible;
Calls upon the government to prepare measures to end mink farming and inform the Second Chamber as soon as possible of its plans.
In reviewing the above Motion, one is puzzled by the statement, “Recognizing that the purpose of fur production does not justify a continuation of mink farming”. Does this mean the Dutch Parliament:
prefers us to wear petro-chemical based “fur”?
is proposing countries waste by-products of the beef, fishing, poultry and dairy industries, “waste” currently utilized by fur farms?
supports wild harvests as the sole method of producing organic fur?
is biased against mink farming while favoring other sources of fur and hides such as domesticated foxes, raccoon-dog, cattle, sheep, swine, horses, etc.?
is attempting to drive the cart without the horse, or in this case, the mink, by asking us to produce mink coats without any mink? A nifty trick if it could be done, and something which would save fur farmers a fortune in feed costs.
Who said politics had to make sense?
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