Hollandi kohus tühistas parlamendi otsuse keelustada mingifarmid Hollandis 2024. aastaks.
PRESSITEADE
Dutch
reversal of fur ban is a win for human rights
In a surprisingly clear
and quick verdict a Dutch national court in The Hague yesterday
overturned the ban that would have put an end to mink farming in The
Netherlands in 2024. The ban was passed by the Dutch Senate in
December 2012, but with reference to the European Human Rights
Convention the court declared the fur ban unconstitutional.
The fur ban was based
on the argument that fur is “an unnecessary luxury product” but
did not offer the Dutch fur farmers any compensation for the ban
taking away their livelihood. This is contrary to the European Human
Rights Convention.
“The European fur
industry is very pleased to learn that human rights, after all, are
more important than coincidental political winds on such an
individual matter as ‘morality’. The production and use of fur
should be the subject of the individual’s freedom of choice rather
than the subject of legislation violating the basic rights of human
beings. There are no reasonable arguments to destroy an entirely
well-functioning industry that demonstrates high animal welfare
standards and generates large export incomes,” says Kenneth Ingman,
Chairman of Fur Europe, an umbrella organisation for the European fur
industry.
Naturally, also the
Dutch fur farmers received the court verdict with joy.
“We have always
believed we had a strong case, and we are pleased to see that an
independent court quickly and clearly has stated that the law banning
mink farming was completely wrong. It is a big relief for Dutch fur
farmers who have regained their livelihood and can now return to a
normal day to day family life,” says Wim Verhagen, Managing
Director of the Dutch Fur Breeders´ Association.
The verdict is expected
to have an international impact since fur bans are being discussed in
a number of countries.
“The message from The
Netherlands is clearly that those few politicians in Europe who want
to ban fur, need to think twice. I hope the message from the Dutch
court will convince them that instead of banning an industry that
performs incredibly well on both animal welfare standards and export
income, they should help further developing the industry,” says
Kenneth Ingman, Chairman of Fur Europe.
The Netherlands is the
world’s third largest mink producing country with an annual
production of 5 million skins. A calculation from audit company KPMG
estimates the compensation for shutting down Dutch mink farming
amounts to 1,2 billion Euro.