Ban on fur and foie gras imports under threat – write to your MP

Update: The Fur (Import and Sale) Bill was due to have its second reading in parliament in June 2025. This has been delayed until July 2025.

The BBC reported that ‘The UK government is likely to drop plans to ban imports of fur and foie gras, amid cabinet opposition.’

Please watch this video from our friends Chris Packham, Animal Equality and HSI:

Write to your MP now

The Action Plan for Animal Welfare was launched in May 2021 to huge media fanfare and speculation. When the plan was launched, Defra stated ‘We have a proud history of championing and taking action on animal welfare in this country. Yet there is more we can and want to do.’ The document stated:

‘Fur farming has been banned on ethical grounds in England and Wales since 2000, and since 2002 in Scotland and Northern Ireland…it is still possible to import other fur from abroad, so we will explore potential action in this area. Equally, the Government has made clear that the production of foie gras from ducks or geese which have been force fed raises serious welfare concerns. The production of foie gras by force feeding is already illegal in the UK…we are committed to building a clear evidence base to inform decisions on banning the import or sale of foie gras’.  

The degree of cruelty involved in the production of foie gras and fur is both appalling and widely known. This is why the production of both of fur and foie gras are banned in the UK. To ban something on welfare grounds, but to still allow it’s importation and consumption is both morally questionable and also cowardly – the importation of both should be banned immediately. As the ‘action plan’ stated, less than a year ago: ‘Yet there is more we can and want to do.’

Please write to your MP and ask them to urge the government for a ban on foie gras and fur.

Thank you.