Some years ago the biggest fur farm in Estonia (Balti Karusnahk AS) had about 160 000 animals — 30 000 foxes and 130 000 minks. Now there are no animals in this farm and the cages are empty.

“The owner told us that they’re not sure if they want to start breeding again in the future or not, but it’s a big step closer to fur free Estonia and we’re doing everything we can to keep the cages empty,” said Annaliisa Post, Communications Manager at Estonian animal advocacy organization Loomus.

The fur farm had been reducing the numbers of workers and animals for a few years due to financial problems. There are still about 10 small chinchilla farms and one fox farm (about 50 foxes) in Estonia, but the exact number of farms is not known.

Estonia is also moving towards banning fur farms. In October, the bill on fur ban passed the first reading in the parliament. The bill has to pass two more readings in the parliament to become a law. On Wednesday (10.02) the parliament and the Minister of Rural Affairs also discussed the topic during the weekly Question Time at the parliament. There were signals from both the minister and the members of the parliament that it’s time to move on with the bill.

“We’ve never been so close to ending this cruel industry in Estonia. We really hope that this time our dream comes true and animals don’t have to suffer anymore only to become unnecessary luxury items,” added Post.