Latvian ministry supports banning fur farming in 2026

Latvian Ministry for Environment Protection and Regional Development supports amendments to the Animal Protection Law that provide for banning from 1 January 2026 the practice of keeping and breeding animals if the purpose of keeping them is harvesting their fur, as confirmed by the ministry.
On Tuesday, 11 January, representatives of the ministry will attend a meeting of Saeima’s Economic, Agricultural, Environmental and Regional Policy Committee during which it is planned to discuss amendments to this law.
The ministry also reminds that the Animal Protection Law details a duty to protect all species of animals and ensure their welfare and safety. Additionally, the law states no one is allowed to kill animals without a justified reason, or cause them pain or suffering of any kind.
«Killing animals for their pelts and causing them suffering does not match modern beliefs and is unacceptable from an ethical standpoint. Latvia has joined the 16 European countries in which fur farming is either fully or partially banned. This decision comes together with the last year’s commitment of the European Commission to completely prohibit the use of cages for livestock by 2027,» explains Minister of Environment Protection and Regional Development Artūrs Toms Plešs.
The ministry adds that the ban on keeping livestock in cages could help reduce the risk of invasive species taking over.
For example, the ban could help reduce the spread of the American mink in the environment and thereby reduce the risk of this species becoming invasive and reducing the population of the European mink.
In recent years Estonia, France, Czech Republic, Norway, Belgium, Luxembourg and Slovakia have all adopted bans on fur farming. Active discussion of this measure continues in Lithuania, Poland, Bulgaria, Ireland and other countries.
On 30 June 2021 the European Commission presented a commitment to fully ban the use of cages for livestock by 2027. The European Commission has commenced an evaluation of the possible effect this decision could have. The evaluation is planned to conclude this year. The ban could affect more than 300 million laying hens, sows, calves, rabbits, geese and other farmed animals each year. This means regulations may be extended and be applicable to not only fur farming.
The public discussion of this proposal could start at the beginning of 2022.