Norway Bans Fur Farming

Multiple news reports are coming out of Norway as the country announced on Monday its plans to shut down all 200 of its fur farms by 2025. Norway, which was once the world’s leader in fox fur production, marks the 14th European country to put an end to its fur trade due to mounting pressure from groups such as the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and its worldwide counterpart, Humane Society International (HSI).

Outlets including Reuters and Newsweek say the move will cost Norwegian fur farmers, who currently produce one million fox and mink pelts annually, up to $63 million per year. Conservative Prime Minister Erna Solberg’s government agreed to shut down the farms “as part of a deal to broaden her two two-party minority government by adding the anti-fur Liberal Party.”

“We’re shocked, shaken to the core,” said Guri Wormdahl of the Norwegian Fur Breeders Association. Fellow fur breeder Bertran Trane Skardsem noted, “This is very serious. We are very disappointed to be sacrificed like that.”

In reality, the ban probably won’t save many animals as the demand for pelts will be met by other countries such as China, which now ranks No. 1 in fur production at 69 percent. And while Norway has strict animal welfare guidelines in place, some other nations may not.

For perspective, Norway had nearly 20,000 fur farms during its peak of production in 1939, but by 2013 it only accounted for 3 percent of fox furs and 1 percent of mink. Nevertheless, Norway’s ban is a landmark move and an example of how groups like the HSUS and HSI are wreaking havoc on peoples’ lives worldwide to push a radical agenda. For just one more example, last year the HSUS stepped up its campaign to shut down legal, regulated grizzly bear hunting in British Columbia. After months of propelling emotion over science-based wildlife management, the end result was B.C.’s grizzly bear hunting ban that went into effect on Nov. 30.

So while hunters who do not wear fur may not yet have considered how a fur farming ban ultimately could affect the collective hunting community, remember this one point. Extremist groups are working to tear down the wall holding up our hunting rights one block at a time because their end goal is to end hunting and create a meatless, petless society. They are in this fight for the long haul. Fortunately, so are we.