Inside a hell fur farm where animals suffer to make fashion items for UK’s top shops

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An undercover Mirror investigation on a farm in Finland found an arctic fox with deformed feet and eye disease in a small enclosure – the fur used to make goods sold in shops such as Harrods, Harvey Nichols and Flannel

I looked into the eyes of an animal that had spent its entire tortured and tormented life trapped in a barren little cage that could become a frivolous fashion item.

This depressed Arctic fox lost an ear. Others are pacing non-stop and plucking their overgrown hairs – signs of psychological distress.

They have deformed feet, sore eyes and some of them are so fat that they are known as “monster foxes”, despite the fur trade promising in 2017 to stop breeding large animals to increase fur volume.

I was in Finland, Europe’s largest producer of fox fur, on one of three secret farm visits in the region of Ostrobothnia, known as the fur breeding capital of foxes.

Since banning fur breeding in 2000 on ethical grounds, the UK has imported more than £850 million of fur, £11 million from Finland.

It used to be for fashion items sold in stores like Harrods, Harvey Nichols and Flannel but if the people who bought it could see the suffering going on in this trade, they were likely to think twice.

The animals were in cages of about one square meter, with no bedding.

Fortunately, their horrific lives were very short – most were electrocuted at eight months of age before being skinned.

I visited the farm with Claire Bass, of Humane Society International/UK, Kristo Muurimaa of the Finnish animal protection group Oikutta Eläimille, and Dr Marc Abraham, TV veterinarian and animal welfare campaigner.

As we were walking torches at 4am through heavy snow, Kristo told me what I had just witnessed was the “norm”.

He said: “I have visited more than 100 fur farms and witnessed the systemic suffering of animals – intelligent wild predators kept in barren little cages, row after row.

“Individual treatment is not possible and, along with the psychological suffering, you will always see untreated illness and injury.”

Veterinarian Marc told me: “Not only is it absolutely heartbreaking to see the horrific plight of these foxes, but even worse to learn that the UK is 100% complicit in the atrocities of this legal fur trade.

“Many have painful swollen eyes, deformed feet with claws that have grown too big from having to stand on a wire floor.

“Others are in poor condition and are obese, not to mention self-harm. It must have been mental torment being denied the freedom to run.”

Claire says: “The industry’s PR round about high welfare circles is so hollow when you look into the eyes of an animal that is mentally and physically damaged by a life of deprivation.

“It is time to stop engaging in this atrocity. It’s a clear double standard that the UK is outsourcing to countries like Finland the same fur farming cruelties that we prohibit here.”

Each year, one to two million foxes are kept in about 750 fur farms in Finland. In our investigation, no Finnish laws were violated and no violations occurred.

FIFUR The Finnish Feather Breeders’ Association said: “Secret filming and its selective use tell nothing about the level of care and welfare of the animals. Responsible breeders take care of their animals as soon as they become aware of a health problem.

“The violator will not know if the animal has received treatment or at what stage it is. All operations are strictly controlled by national law.”

Two of the three farms we visited were certified by the industry’s SAGA fur guarantee scheme, promising the “highest level of welfare”.

Since the Mirror launched its Fur Free Britain campaign with Humane Society International/UK in July 2020, we have uncovered cases of horrific suffering in China, Denmark, France and Poland.

A shop that sells items made from arctic foxes

Items made from Finnish Arctic foxes, including hats, scarves and coats, can be found in upscale British shops.

Although many retailers, including Selfridges and Net-a-Porter, now refuse to sell fur, Harrods, House of Fraser, Harvey Nichols and Flannels continue to sell brands such as Fendi, Moncler, Yves Salomon, Woolrich, Herno and Max Mara.

At Harrods, we found a Yves Salomon cashmere hat with a Finnish fox fur pompom for £220 and a Herno women’s jacket with a fur hood trim.

Most of the fur produced in Finland is shipped to Saga Furs, a marketing brand and auction house near Helsinki. Its certification scheme claims its farms provide good health and animal welfare.

Two farms that the Mirror visited last month have this certification despite being full of suffering animals. Items for sale in the UK that proclaim this high standard of welfare include a Max Mara cloak trimmed in fox fur for £1,785.

In February, a Mirror investigation revealed how a House of Fraser store displayed signs reading “No fur products stored in the House of Fraser” above a real fur clothing rack.

Other exposures reveal fur goods labeled as faux fur are being sold on sites such as Amazon and eBay.

Max Mara and Harrods did not respond to our request for comment.