NY State bans electrocution of furbearers

SANDY PARKER REPORT, VOL. 31, ISSUE 26, SEPT. 3, 2007
The following extract is reproduced with permission from Sandy Parker Reports, Weekly International Fur News. Sandy Parker has been covering the fur industry for more than four decades. For most of that time he has published a weekly newsletter, detailing results of international pelt auctions, wholesale price trends, business developments and movements in the trade, as well as economic and political activities that may impact on it.

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International Fur News
with Sandy Parker

NY State bans electrocution of furbearers; no impact on business

NEW YORK STATE HAS ENACTED A BAN on the electrocution of animals for their fur, believed to be the first such law in the country. However, in signing the legislation, Gov. Eliot Spitzer acknowledged that “it is not clear that any fur farms in New York euthanize animals using electrocution, and thus this bill would have little or no adverse impact on existing New York business.”  The measure specifies 17 fur-bearers – mostly wild furs – and makes the use of electrocution a Class A misdemeanor.

Fur Commission USA, which represents mink farmers in 28 states, opposed the legislation. Its position, according to executive director Teresa Platt, is in opposition to any legislation “which undermines the validity and strength of the American Veterinary Medical Association’s panel on euthanasia.” While electrocution is known to be used on fox farms, particularly in Europe, there are no known fox farms in New York. As to mink, in accordance with the recommendation of the AVMA, the only method of euthanasia approved by FCUSA is controlled atmosphere euthanasia using bottled gas, either pure carbon monoxide or carbon dioxide.

KOPENHAGEN FUR IS WORKING TO FURTHER IMPROVE ITS X-RAY SCANNING SYSTEM. Right now, the company reports, it contains enough information to determine length, area, leather defects, hair length and wool density. “Over the next six months, we will work hard to do a precise hair-length measurement and we expect to have an online production line running in 2008. In terms of quality, we believe that automatic determination of hair length will give us a more accurate line between each class and eliminate variation over time. Today, it is very difficult to find every defect in the manual sorting process. If we can use x-ray to find leather defects, it will be possible to make a sorting that contains 100% regular skins.”

IN THIS ISSUE:
Retail Sales Still in Doldrums
Stores’ Optimism Being Tested
Economic Outlook Is Clouded
Consumer Confidence Declines
Mink Eases in Copenhagen

For extracts from back issues of Sandy Parker Reports see News Archive. Subscribers can access an archive of complete issues at www.sandyparker.com.