Brussels - The sale and import of products containing cat or dog fur is to be banned across the European Union as of December 31, 2008, officials said Monday. EU agriculture ministers formally adopted a proposal to this effect put forward a year ago by the EU's executive during a regular council meeting in Brussels.
The Commission's proposal calls for a total ban on the import, export and sale of cat and dog fur in all of the EU's 27 member states.
At present, only 15 EU countries have some sort of legislation in place with regard to cat and dog fur. These are: France, Italy, Greece, Belgium, Denmark, Britain, the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, Latvia, Austria, Cyprus, Spain, Poland and Slovenia.
And rules differ from state to state. Some ban such pets from being reared for production purposes while others impose strict import bans.
The regulation adopted by ministers on Monday harmonizes and strengthens these rules across the bloc.
The presence in EU markets of products containing cat or dog fur is difficult to quantify as the latter is usually used as a fraudulent substitute for more expensive fur, EU officials note.
It is nevertheless believed to be limited.
Most products containing cat or dog fur are believed to be made in China. These include some children's toys, a 2005 study commissioned by the Dutch government found.
