Debate on the import and sale of fur and related products

There will be a debate on the import and sale of fur and fur related products in Westminster Hall on Tuesday 10 March 2026. The topic has been selected by the Backbench Business Committee. The debate will be opened by Ruth Jones MP (Labour, Newport West and Islwyn).

Value of UK trade in fur

In 2024, the UK exported £17.2 million of furs and fur products and imported £34.8 million. The largest category was fur-skin items of clothing and apparel where exports were £14.9 million and imports were £27.5 million.

Legislation on fur Fur farming

A fur farm is an agricultural business that breeds and raises animals in captivity for the purpose of killing them and harvesting their fur for use in clothing and accessories. Fur farming has been banned in England and Wales since 2000 by the Fur Farming (Prohibition) Act 2000. The practice was later prohibited in Scotland and Northern Ireland in 2002, under the Fur Farming (Prohibition) (Scotland) Act 2002 and The Fur Farming (Prohibition) (Northern Ireland) Order 2002, respectively.

Import of fur and fur products

The import of fur and fur products remains legal in the UK, including items made from farmed animals and from animals hunted or trapped in the wild. However, certain types of skin and fur products are subject to strict import prohibitions. For example, the import of cat and dog fur is permanently banned under the Cat and Dog Fur (Control of Movement etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2022.

Seal products may only be imported and sold in the UK in limited circumstances, and only when specific conditions linked to the rights and traditions of indigenous communities are met. Further details can be found in the government policy paper Trade of seal products in Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales), May 2024.

The government also maintains controls on fur from endangered species protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). In addition, the UK does not permit imports of fur from wild animals caught using trapping methods that fail to meet international humane trapping standards. More information on these standards is available in the government guidance Importing animal furs and skins – export of fish (April 2018).

Labelling of fur products

Under the Textile Products (Labelling and Fibre Composition) Regulations 2012 and the Regulation (EU) No 1007/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council (the “regulations”, now assimilated into UK law) any textile product that contains real fur or other animal‑derived materials must carry the following mandatory label: “contains non‑textile parts of animal origin”. This wording must appear exactly as specified and must be clearly visible to consumers.

The regulations also require all textile products to display a label identifying their fibre content, including any fur, leather or bone. Where a product is made from two or more components containing different fibres, each component must have its fibre composition listed separately. Only approved, standardised fibre names may be used, as set out in the regulations, which also include a list of products exempt from fibre‑content labelling requirements.

Manufacturers, importers and retailers are responsible for ensuring that all textile products comply fully with these labelling obligations. Enforcement of the regulations is by local trading standards bodies. For further information see Chartered Trading Standards Institute guide, Labelling of textiles.

Campaigns to ban fur

The Fur Free Alliance (FFA) is an international coalition of over 45 animal protection organisations across over 30 countries working to end breeding animals for fur. The FFA focuses on banning fur farming, stopping fur trapping and promoting a Fur Free Retailer programme, which has helped over 1,500 brands commit to removing fur from their collections. The Fur Free Europe European Citizens’ Initiative gathered 1.7 million validated signatures and triggered a review of the initiative by the European Commission (2025).

The #FurFreeBritain campaign, is led by a coalition of animal welfare campaign groups, including Humane World for Animals, Four Paws, Peta, animal aid and the RSPCA. They are lobbying to ban the import and sale of real fur in the UK. A petition on the campaign website has been supported by over 1.5 million signatures.

The fur free Britain campaign website states that the fur trade kills tens of millions of animals each year, including foxes, chinchillas, minks, raccoon dogs, and rabbits; around 95% of this fur comes from animals kept in intensive battery‑cage farms in countries such as Poland, Finland, Greece, the US, Canada and China. It states that despite industry claims, keeping wild animals in small cages or trapping them in the wild cannot be done humanely, as numerous investigations have repeatedly shown severe suffering on fur farms and trapping lines.

Ruth Jones MP has introduced a private member’s bill, Fur (Import and Sale) Bill 2024-26, which seeks to prohibit the import and sale of fur. A second reading for the bill is scheduled for 17 April 2026.

Opposition to a fur ban

The British Fur Trade Association, the primary trade organisation representing the UK's fur sector has argued against a ban, saying that fur is a natural, renewable and sustainable material. Its publication, How a UK fur ban would damage and set back animal welfare (PDF, 2025) states that banning fur would:

• damage the UK’s influence on animal welfare standards on fur imports
• increase the amount of fur coming from unregulated sources
• be difficult to enforce
• harm communities reliant on the fur trade, and;
• lead to UK job losses by those in the fashion industry working with fur.

The UK Government’s position on fur

The UK Government published an Animal Welfare Strategy for England in December 2025 (the “strategy”). The strategy states that the government will:

• publish the results of the previous government’s call for evidence on the fur trade. This consultation sought views on the social, economic and animal welfare impacts associated with the fur trade, both domestically and abroad.
• publish and “consider carefully” the “Opinion on the Responsible Sourcing of Fur,” which it commissioned from the Animal Welfare Committee (not yet published). The AWC advises the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Scottish and Welsh Governments on the welfare of animals.
• bring together a working group on fur, with involvement from both industry experts and those who support restrictions on the trade in fur to explore concerns and the different ways in which they could be addressed.

engage with the EU, as a major source of fur imported into the UK, as the EU considers the findings of the July 2025 European Food Safety Authority scientific opinion on the welfare of animals kept for fur production, and the results of the European Commission’s July 2025 Call for Evidence on the ‘Fur Free Europe’ Citizens’ Initiative