The number of minks bred and killed for fur has halved worldwide in recent years – from 33 million in 2020 to 17 million in 2022. The production of fur from minks and foxes is also decreasing, according to data from the Open Cages Association. Over 20 countries in Europe have already introduced a total ban on fur farming or significant restrictions for breeders. Poland may also see a change. There is a draft law waiting for consideration in the Sejm (Parliament) that proposes a ban on creating new farms from 2025 and closing existing ones by 2029.
“We observe that the fur industry is actually in decline worldwide, this is not a trend visible only in Poland, although it is also visible here. We can see this in the number of farms and animals bred in Poland. Some time ago, the number of animals was 10 million and there were about 1,000 farms. Now there are only 3 million animals and about 300 farms,” Anna Iżyńska-Tymoniuk from the Open Cages Association told the Newseria Biznes agency.
The Association’s report “The Price of Fur” on the fur industry in Poland indicates that the global number of minks bred and killed for fur fell from 33 million in 2020 to 17 million in 2022. Fur production from minks in the EU fell during these two years from 18 million to 7.5 million. There is also a downward trend in the case of fox skins – 700,000 were produced in 2022, compared to 1.2 million two years earlier. This is largely due to increasingly strict regulations. Over 20 countries in Europe have already banned fur farming or introduced significant breeding restrictions.
A similar change may soon happen in Poland as well. In June, a draft amendment to the Animal Protection Act was submitted to the Sejm.
“That’s a project prepared by MP Małgorzata Tracz. We are waiting for work to start on it. Currently, in 22 countries in Europe, there is a ban on fur farming. Romania joined this group in October. There is an investigation published there by Human Society International, which showed significant neglect with respect to chinchillas bred there. In Romania, as in many other countries, the number of farms has been plummeting for many years. In 2023, there were only 12 of the 150 previously operating farms. This is the natural consequence of how the industry is collapsing typically economically worldwide,” explains the expert from the Open Cages Association.
The draft law assumes that from the moment the regulations come into effect, new fur farms will no longer be able to be created. After five years, all existing fur farms will be phased out.
In its analysis, the Open Cages Association recalls that the fur industry in Poland flourished after 2013, when the Netherlands banned fur farming. Some breeders decided to relocate their business to Poland, where there were favorable tax conditions and little social resistance.
The exact number of people employed in the fur industry is not known. The Western Center for Social and Economic Research estimates that in 2020, employment on Polish farms converted into full-time jobs was no more than 2-3,000 people. The Open Cages Association estimates that at most twice as many people worked in the business environment.
Poland is the largest producer of fur in Europe and the second largest in the world, after China. However, while in 2016, mink skin exports reached 9 million pieces, they have now fallen to below 2 million. The export volume of fox skins has decreased almost thirty times since 2014, to trace amounts, and its value has decreased from over 5 million euros in 2015 to just over 57,000 (a decrease of almost 99 percent). Currently, according to the report of the Western Center for Social and Economic Research, which Open Cages refers to, the importance of the fur industry is small – it accounts for 0.08 percent of GDP, 0.16 percent of exports, and 0.03-0.06 percent of the labor market.
