PM Starmer ready to accept animal cruelty to get closer to EU

This is my opinion based on a factually true story.

This is crass, objectionable thinking by the Prime Minister of the UK and his team, Sir Keir Starmer who wants to undo Brexit and work more closely with the EU in order - he thinks - to grow the dead British economy. The trouble is that he has to sell his soul to work more closely with the EU and pay a huge financial price probably in the billions of euros. The EU always extracts billions from countries which want to work with the EU.

Foie Gras and Fur Production in the EU

Foie gras and animal fur remain legal industries within the European Union, even though both involve practices widely criticised for causing animal suffering. Foie gras is produced mainly in France, along with smaller operations in Spain, Hungary and Bulgaria. The process relies on force‑feeding ducks or geese to enlarge their livers far beyond normal size. This method, known as gavage, is banned in several EU countries on welfare grounds, but the EU single market rules mean the product itself cannot be banned from sale. France, in particular, treats foie gras as part of its cultural heritage and strongly defends its production.

Fur farming has been banned in a growing number of EU states — including the Netherlands, Austria, Belgium and Italy — but fur sales and imports remain legal at EU level. Countries that still farm fur, such as Finland, continue to export it freely within the single market. The EU has not introduced a bloc‑wide ban on fur products, despite public pressure and citizen‑led initiatives calling for one.

The result is a patchwork: some EU countries prohibit the production of foie gras or fur, but none can block their sale. As long as these products remain legal at EU level, they continue to circulate freely across the union.

The price of working closer with the EU

The UK government are now ready to drop a promise to ban imports of animal fur and foie gras in order to secure a deal with the EU to enable the UK to work more closely with the continent. Foie gras was banned in the UK 20 years ago. To accept imports is a big step backwards.

The EU are not prepared it seems to make the imports of these animal cruelty products an exception for the UK.

The trouble is that the UK have to accept EU standards even if they are lower than UK standards in the area of animal welfare.

Frankly this makes me angry. Animal welfare is often de-prioritised by politicians because it gets in the way of economic progress. It always will because exploiting animals is good business.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins. Also, sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified. And, I rely on scientific studies but they are not 100% reliable. Finally, (!) I often express an OPINION on the news. Please share yours in a comment.

Sale of clothes containing fur in shops in Britain will be banned

The UK government is drawing up plans to prohibit the sale of clothes containing fur in shops after Britain leave the European Union's single market and customs union. This is the result of Brexit. The government is currently negotiating a Brexit agreement with the European Union and it looks more hopeful at the moment. 

The European Union banned the import and sale of fur from domestic cats and dogs across the EU in 2009. However, an investigation by the Humane Society International in the UK discovered that fur described as faux fur is in fact real and can be found in some clothes and shoes. Faux fur is not better than the real thing.

Objectionable fur clothing. Photo: Pixabay. Note: I am not criticising this man
who is probably a model. Also I am not sure if the fur is fake or genuine.

The point to make is this: it is very pleasing to animal advocates that the UK government is going to put an end to the sale of clothes containing fur in the UK starting next year (all being well) but they will have to be particularly observant and rigourous in weeding out real fur masquerading as faux fur. My research indicates that faux fur is actually more expensive to reduce than the real thing, which is a terrible indictment of the amount of cruelty perpetrated on captive animals who are killed for their skins.

Apparently the faux fur is cat fur. Retailers should take responsibility for ensuring that the fur on the clothes that they sell is genuinely false. They should trace the source and insist that their suppliers provide certificates that their products are genuinely faux fur. Genuine fur disguised as faux fur is apparently quite a big issue in the high street. Fur traders find ways to wriggle around regulations.

I sincerely hope that the British government get a handle on this. There are a lot of unscrupulous producers, wholesalers and retailers who don't care about animal welfare. Changing the law and banning the sale of fur in clothes in the High Street in the UK is not enough although very welcome. There needs to be strict enforcement which is going to prove very difficult.

The move to ban fur in shops is being driven by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park who is the Defra minister with responsibility for animal welfare. He is working, as I understand it, with Carrie Symonds, Boris Jonson's partner who as we all know is a keen animal advocate. The ban would be a strong signal of Britain's post-Brexit freedoms. It would be very popular because opinion polls have indicated that about 80% of Briton's think that fur on clothes are unacceptable nowadays. They dislike the trade in fur. Northern Ireland will be exempt from this proposal because they remain in the EU's single market and customs rules.

The British Fur Trade Association, as expected, say that the proposals are "irrational, illiberal and misjudged". Animal advocates would say the same thing about the association. It is time for change, there is no doubt about it.