Foxes With Deformed Feet, Missing Ears, Diseased Eyes Found on 'High-Welfare' Fur Farms

Animal rights activists have uncovered what they said was disturbing animal suffering on supposedly "high-welfare" fox fur farms in Finland.

The country's fur industry says that almost all fox and raccoon dog fur farms in Finland are certified by the Saga Furs assurance scheme, which promises the "highest level of animal welfare," according to animal advocacy organization Humane Society International/U.K.

"Saga Certification is the most important management system connected to animal welfare in Finland," reads the Saga Furs website. "Saga Certification, launched in 2005, is a comprehensive quality management system that places a high emphasis on animal welfare and health."

Finland is the biggest producer of fox fur in Europe, rearing and killing between 1 and 2 million of these animals every year for this purpose, according to animal advocacy organization Humane Society International/U.K, which added that fur originating in Finland is used by several luxury international fashion brands.

Humane Society International, accompanied by other Finnish and British animal welfare campaigners, conducted an undercover investigation of three fur farms in Finland's Ostrobothnia region, two of which are certified by Saga Furs—a Finnish fur brand and auction house.

Investigators said they found Arctic foxes confined in tiny, barren wire cages, suffering with deformed feet, diseased eyes, missing ears and obesity.

"Fur trade buzzwords about welfare ring incredibly hollow when you are staring into the eyes of an animal tormented by a life of deprivation for a frivolous fashion item that nobody needs," Claire Bass, executive director of Humane Society International/U.K., who visited the fur farms, said in a statement.

“This is absolute exploitation of animals to the millionth degree” thank you @marcthevet for joining us in Finland to expose the suffering of foxes on fur farms, and urging @DefraGovUK @ZacGoldsmith to stop the UK trading in cruel fur.

Take action 🦊 👇https://t.co/A0YWBZA39Z pic.twitter.com/d2O3tkUft8 — HSI United Kingdom (@HSIUKorg) November 22, 2021

"Most fashion-forward designers have gone fur-free because of the indefensible cruelty," she said.

Bass called on fashion brands who use fur and governments who allow this practice to "stop being complicit in this cruelty."

British vet and animal welfare campaigner Marc Abraham also accompanied investigators to the Finnish fur farms.

"As a vet and campaigner who has dedicated my life to animal welfare, it was... truly depressing to seeing the appalling state of these foxes. What I witnessed first-hand was shameful from an animal welfare point of view, row upon row of pitiful animals imprisoned in tiny cages, barely larger than the length of their body from nose to tail."

Abraham said many of the foxes had "painfully swollen eyes," deformed feet with overgrown claws from having to stand on the wire floor of their cages, as well as exhibiting signs of self-mutilation—a clear sign of psychological trauma resulting from their immediate environment.

"It must be mental torture being denied the freedom to run and exercise in their natural woodland environment that they can clearly view surrounding their cages, which their instincts are telling them to explore 24/7, but to which, tragically, they will never have access during their short lives," said Abraham.

Two of the farms covered in the investigation were home to "monster foxes" that have been bred to have unusually large folds of fat, which increases the amount of fur that can be harvested.

Kristo Muurimaa from Finnish animal protection group Oikeutta Eläimille, who also accompanied the investigation, said in the statement: "I have visited more than a hundred fur farms across Finland and every single one is as horrific as the last."

Newsweek has contacted Saga Furs for comment.