UpdateTHE HAGUE – Early next year it will be definitively prohibited to keep fur animals in the Netherlands. An average mink farmer with about 4,000 breeding bitches receives about six tons as compensation. This is evident from the termination scheme that the cabinet published on Thursday.
–
The arrangement has been eagerly anticipated by all parties for a few months. A majority in the House of Representatives has been calling for an early closure of the mink sector since the summer. Fur farming would already be banned from 2024, but the many corona infections on the mink farms prompted earlier action. 69 companies in the Netherlands – more than half of the total – have already been cleared due to an outbreak.
–
The question, however, was what exactly Agriculture Minister Schouten would come up with. An arrangement in consultation with the sector, or a unilateral breeding ban? It will now be the first. Although this also means that mink farming in the Netherlands will be banned as soon as possible: as soon as the House of Representatives and the Senate have been able to discuss the necessary legislation. That is expected early next year.
–
51 euros per bitch per year
In addition, there is also a scheme in which mink farmers are largely compensated for the three years of income that they are now missing. The exact amount differs greatly per situation, but the basis of the amount is a compensation of 51 euros per breeding bitch per year. That amounts to over six tons for an average farm with 4,000 breeding bitches. With an amount that has already been cleared due to corona, the amount is slightly lower. Fifteen percent of the lost income is not reimbursed: that falls under the entrepreneurial risk, says Schouten.
–
Agricultural organization LTO is moderately positive about the scheme. “We are especially pleased that there is finally clarity for the mink farmers”, says Martijn Pijnenburg, chairman of the Mink Farming department. “We are not completely satisfied; that’s the 15 percent discount. But in our view this is the maximum achievable. “
–
Last mink gone this year?
It probably means that the last mink will disappear from the Netherlands this year. At this point, the mink puppies are already being killed for their fur. As long as there is no prohibition, in theory it is still possible to keep the breeding bitches. In practice, however, this mainly costs money, while the animals no longer yield anything. It is also not possible to take them abroad, for example, because a transport ban remains in force until the legal ban.
–
The LTO department also advises mink farmers not to keep breeding bitches. Pijnenburg: “Our advice is to stop the companies now and to stop keeping animals alive. That makes no sense anymore, it ends here, we have to make do with this. ”
–
Free unlimited access to Showbytes? Which can!
Log in or create an account and don’t miss out on the stars.
–
–
