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The red fox is frantically scratching at the wires of his little cage. An arctic fox squirms lazily with a bloody tail. Other furry creatures, some with watery eyes, stare blankly into the light on the activist’s video camera.
The Finnish advocacy group Oikeutta Elaimi, or Justice for Animalsand Humane Society International published images taken from a “secret investigation” at three fur farms in the West Finland at the end of October to highlight the reality of trade behind the scenes.
The activists’ raid comes as the European Union, which counts Finland as a member, is awaiting advice from the EU’s animal welfare agency in March before deciding in March 2026 whether it should propose a total ban on fur farming.
FIFUR, the Finnish fur farmers’ group, condemned the “secret filming” of farms, accusing the intruders of “violating strict biosecurity requirements” on farms where operations are “strictly controlled by national laws and regulations” and where veterinarians monitor animal welfare.
Some viewers may ache for the conditions in which the lovely-looking creatures are found; others might wonder what the big deal is: the industry is — at least for now — legal and regulated.
Apart from the confinement of the animals in small cages — sometimes more than one to a single cage — none of the pictures show abuse in progress. No explanation was given for the bright red blood on what looked like an open wound and exposed bone in one part of the arctic fox’s tail.
“These images and these intrusions… create a false image of the normal welfare of laboratory animals and the keeping of animals on farms,” said FIFUR spokesman Olli-Pekka Nissinen, adding that his group believed the initiative to ban fur farming would be rejected.
The breeders’ group said the fur sector had among the highest welfare standards of any form of livestock farming, and Nissinen suggested farmers had little incentive to mistreat them. “Animal welfare is first seen in the fur of the animals and it is very important that farmers take care of the animals so that they can have a decent income.”
FIFUR says the majority of its 442 member farms – as of December last year – are run by family businesses, and almost all of the farms are in the Ostrobothnia region along the Baltic Sea. Finland is the world’s largest producer of certified fox fur, the industry group said.
Oikeutta Eläimille spokesman Kristo Muurimaa says the operation involved entering farms to observe and document the conditions in which the animals are kept and that the photos were taken in accordance with Finnish law.
Neither side has announced plans to take any legal action.
“Humans have used fur for a long time, basically since the Stone Age,” Muurimaa said. “However, the practice of keeping animals in very small barren cages is not that old. It is a product of modern times where animals are only seen as products.”
“This kind of treatment of animals does not belong in our time. Times have moved on and now is the time to leave this kind of cruelty behind,” he added. “In modern times, no one needs fur. Fur is mainly used as a status symbol by the wealthy elite in countries like China and Russia.”
The 27-nation EU, according to the latest figures, estimates that around 1,000 fur farms with approximately 7.7 million animals – including minks, foxes and raccoon dogs – are active in the bloc.
In neighboring Switzerland, which is not a member of the EU, a three-month public consultation on a government proposal to ban the import and sale of fur obtained from “cruelty” of animals ended last month. This measure would allow the authorities to confiscate such furs.
Activists want the Swiss government to go further, seeking a broader definition of “abuse” and a wider range of affected fur farms. The issue, which is currently low on Switzerland’s full referendum calendar, could be put to a public vote in late 2026 at the earliest.
The Humane Society International said in a statement last month that tens of millions of animals suffer and die each year in the global fur trade and that “the vast majority of animals killed for their fur are kept in barren cages on fur farms.”
Finland, the advocacy group said, is one of the last European countries where the farming of such animals for their fur remains legal – and pointed the finger at a number of retail brands that use fox fur from Finland.
China is the world’s most important export market for fur, followed by South Korea and the Western European and North American markets, said FIFUR, which counts hundreds of farms in Finland as members.
In Europe, as of 2023, Poland and Greece were the biggest producers — almost entirely of mink — while Finland was third, according to this year’s report by the industry association.
Avian flu and coronavirus outbreaks have hit the fur industry hard, especially in Denmark, since 2020, but the supply trend has been declining for many years.
The FIFUR report shows that the volume of mink fur supply has fallen by around three-quarters since 2010 – to 12,285 last year – a similar percentage decline to mink fur, which was 2,440 in 2023.