Fur flies over animal traps

ANOTHER VIEW

The international fur trade has no wish to scrap the European Union regulation banning the sale of fur from animals caught in steel- jawed leghold traps, as reported in the Independent this week. We are simply seeking a postponement while better methods of animal management are perfected and international standards developed.

We would point out that most of the animals taken in the wild are killed as part of wildlife conservation programmes, or for reasons of pest or disease control or crop or habitat protection. Many industries use the animal by-products; the fur trade, in fact, uses less than 10 per cent of animals trapped in the wild.

Although the ''drowning trap'' is not used in the United Kingdom it is used widely in many other countries, including several EU states. In Holland, for example, musk-rats are trapped in order to protect the dykes and canals.

The British Standards Institute (BSI) committee on international trapping standards includes two government scientists and representatives of Respect for Animals, Beauty without Cruelty, Care for the Wild and the RSPCA; only two committee members represent British fur trade interests. The International Standards Organisation (ISO) technical committee which is looking at trapping comprises representatives of national committees - such as the BSI - from all over the world. Most of these committees are similarly weighted. Therefore the claim that the fur trade dominates the ISO process is plainly untrue. We further point out that all the organisations mentioned have pledged themselves to improving trapping standards.

The EU regulation focuses on the leghold trap; yet many other methods of animal management are used. Until the ISO completes its work, however, there are no international standards to determine which of these traps can be considered humane. Unlike some animal welfare groups, the ISO does not differentiate between the reasons why animals are trapped; the process seeks to improve the welfare of all animals trapped, whatever the reason.

EU legislators are seeking to impose theoretical standards on countries such as the United States, Canada and Russia - standards which European governments, including the British, have admitted they are unable to meet themselves.

For the first time, governments are attempting to create a form of standardisation which will vastly improve animal welfare. If people are genuinely concerned, they should support the ISO process to its logical conclusion: the perfection of animal management techniques.

The EU and animal rights organisations should use their vast resources to promote the development of better traps both within the EU and worldwide. To date, the British Fur Trade Association is the only UK organisation financially supporting research into animal traps.

The writer is chairman of the British Fur Trade Association.