e-5269 (Animals)

Petition to the Government of Canada

• Fur farming poses a public health risk to Canadians;
• Fur-farmed animals carry high-risk zoonotic diseases including coronaviruses and influenza;
• The intensive breeding and captivity of fur-bearing animal species increases the risk of zoonotic disease transmission between humans and animals;
• British Columbia banned mink farming due to its public health risk;
• Infectious disease specialists in Canada identified fur farming as a hazardous practice and called on the Government of Canada to end fur farming;
• The extreme confinement of wildlife on fur farms causes significant pain and suffering to animals;
• Wolves, bobcats, foxes, lynx, chinchillas, and minks are species known to be commercially farmed for their fur in Canada, and the National Farm Animal Care Council has only developed Codes of Practice for the farming of minks and foxes;
• The federal government is responsible for prohibiting animal suffering and protecting public health and the environment;
• Industrial fur farming is incongruent with the values and traditions of many First Nations;
• The environmental impacts of Canadian fur farms include eutrophication of bodies of water;
• Canada is one of the few remaining countries in the world where fur farming is still legal and has active fur farms (over twenty countries have banned fur farming);
• Fur farming is a socially unacceptable practice as it commercializes Canadian wildlife for non-essential, luxury fashion fur products that are sold on international markets; and
• Public opinion surveys reinforce that most Canadians overwhelmingly support a nationwide prohibition on fur farming;