An economically failing sector, environmentally unsustainable and morally indefensible. This is the picture that emerges from the new report “A full-cost account of the EU fur industry”presented to the European Parliament during the event “The True Cost of Fur”, promoted as part of the Fur Free Europe campaign.
The analysis, carried out by the economist Griffin Carpenterputs in black and white what has been evident for some time: the fur industry not only does not generate value, but takes it away. Over the last ten years, fur farming in the European Union has decreased by 73%, and production is set to drop by a further 15-20% by 2028.
We typically evaluate whether an industry adds more value than it subtracts. In the case of the fur industry, we already start from a negative economic value. When you also factor in environmental and health costs, the contribution to society becomes even worse, Carpenter explained.
A loss-making sector that survives thanks to public funds
According to the report, the sector generates a negative gross added value of €9.2 million and represents less than 0.003% of EU jobs, a percentage comparable to that of obsolete sectors such as video rental.
Yet, despite the collapse in demand and prices, it continues to be supported by public funding that far exceeds the tax revenues produced. In other words, a loss-making industry, artificially kept alive with taxpayers’ money.
Huge environmental and health costs
Added to the economic weakness are environmental impacts estimated at 226 million euros per year, due to pollution, waste of resources and the spread of invasive alien species. Emissions from mink and fox farms are associated with chronic respiratory diseases and premature deaths.
The health risks are no less worrying: fur farms are reservoirs of zoonotic viruses. During the COVID-19 pandemic, farmed mink were identified as potential vectors for transmitting SARS-CoV-2. The estimated cost of preventing the spread of new infectious diseases from these farms exceeds 211 million euros per year.
Millions of animals killed for a product that is no longer needed
In 2024 alone, 6.3 million animals were killed for their fur in the European Union. Animals confined in cramped cages, deprived of any natural stimulus and condemned to a life of suffering for a product that citizens, fashion brands and retailers have abandoned for years.
Suffering is, after all, inevitable. This was also reiterated by EFSA, the European Food Safety Authority, which in its recent scientific opinion clarified that the welfare of animals on these farms cannot be guaranteed, regardless of any structural modifications or environmental enrichments.
“The European Commission must intervene immediately”
The European Commission will have to decide by March 2026 on the European Citizens’ Initiative “Fur Free Europe”, supported by over 1.5 million citizens and promoted in Italy by LAV.
Consumers, brands and Member States have already distanced themselves from this industry because it is unethical, unsustainable and risky for public health – concludes Simone Pavesi, head of LAV Animal Free Fashion Area. There is no economic, social or environmental interest in continuing to support an activity based on the worst animal exploitation. The European Commission must urgently start the legislative process to ban the farming, import and trade of animal fur across the Union.
