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Report on UK fur trade published
Fur farming was banned in the UK in 2000 and EU regulations make it illegal to trade in fur from domestic cats and dogs or commercial seal hunts.
Committee finds retailers ‘did not do enough’ to counter faux fur scandal 

Retailers and Trading Standards have been ‘complacent’ about the issue of real fur being sold as fake fur, according to a recent inquiry.

The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Efra) Committee published its report, Fur Trade in the UK, following a string of recent high-profile cases involving real fur being sold as fake fur by a number of major retailers.

According to the committee, enforcement of the regulations surrounding the sale of fur has been poor and retailers named in the report ‘did not do enough’ to counter the mis-selling of fur as fake fur.

“Reports of real fur being sold as fake fur shows that retailers are flouting their responsibility to consumers,” Efra chair Neil Parish. “The mis-selling of real fur should not be discovered by campaign organisations and the media, but by Trading Standards officers and retailers.

“Retailers of all sizes are complacent about the issue of fake faux fur. It is illegal to give misleading information and Trading Standards have been poor at identifying and acting against those who are doing so.”

Mr Parish added that Brexit offers an opportunity to improve the UK’s labelling system; however, this will depend on the nature of the future EU-UK trading relationship.

Key recommendations in the report:
  • the government should launch a public consultation on whether to ban the sale of real fur
  • local authorities must be properly resourced, take more responsibility and provide training for Trading Standards officers
  • recent work to improve the supply chain and communication with online sellers must continue
  • mis-selling of real fur as fake fur should be proactively investigated
  • post-Brexit, a new mandatory labelling regime should be introduced to identify fur and other animal products accurately; including the species of fur, country of origin and method of production.

Fur farming was banned in the UK in 2000 and EU regulations make it illegal to trade in fur from domestic cats and dogs or commercial seal hunts. However, the UK continues to import and sell fur from a range of other species including fox, rabbit, mink, coyote, raccoon dog and chinchilla.

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RCVS Knowledge appoints Veterinary Evidence editor-in-chief

News Story 1
 RCVS Knowledge has welcomed Professor Peter Cockcroft as editor-in-chief for Veterinary Evidence.

A world-renowned expert in evidence-based veterinary medicine, Prof Cockcroft will lead the strategic development and editorial quality of the open-access journal. He was previously in the role from 2017-2020.

Katie Mantell, CEO of RCVS Knowledge, said: "We are excited about the extensive knowledge of evidence-based veterinary medicine and clinical veterinary research that Peter brings, and we look forward to working with him over this next phase of the journal's development." 

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News Shorts
Defra to host bluetongue webinar for vets

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) will be hosting a webinar for veterinary professional on bluetongue on Thursday, 25 April 2024.

Topics covered will include the transmission cycle, pathology and pathogenesis, clinical signs (including signs seen in recent BTV-3 cases in the Netherlands), and control and prevention.

The session, which will take place from 6pm to 7.30pm, is part of Defra's 'Plan, Prevent and Protect' webinar series, which are hosted by policy officials, epidemiologists and veterinary professionals from Defra and the Animal and Plant Health Agency. The bluetongue session will also feature insights from experts from The Pirbright Institute.

Those attending will have the opportunity to ask questions. Places on the webinar can be booked online.