Switzerland Bans Import of Cruelly Produced Fur in a Landmark Parliament Vote

• Today, the Swiss Council of States, one of the two chambers of Parliament, voted almost unanimously (43:1) in favour of a ban on the import of cruelly produced fur products
• As a final procedural step, the ban still requires approval by both chambers of Parliament on 2 October. The vote is considered largely a formality, as the National Council already backed the ban in autumn 2025 and is only revisiting it to endorse minor amendments (e.g.: technical changes to the legal provision)
• If adopted, the import ban is expected to come into force on 1 July 2029
• The Council of States has adopted the indirect counter-proposal the Fur Initiative, despite attempts by the fur industry to weaken the legislation

The fur industry had lobbied to dilute the counter-proposal, notably by advocating for the replacement of the federal certification system with a framework based on so-called “international standards.” The Council of States rejected these efforts, ensuring that compliance will be measured against independent criteria rather than benchmarks defined by the fur industry itself.

The Federal Council’s draft is based on the World Organisation for Animal Health’s (WOAH) animal welfare principles, including the Five Domains model, which recognizes nutrition, environment, health, behaviour, and mental state as key elements of animal welfare. The Swiss Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO) is currently developing a certification program that will define animal cruelty criteria based on the WOAH standards.

The European Commission’s draft announcement, leaked in Brussel’s media earlier this year, suggested welfare standards rather than a ban on fur farming and on the import of fur products. This contradicts the full body of scientific evidence for a fur farming ban: In July 2025, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) concluded that animal welfare cannot be ensured within the cage systems on which the entire fur farming industry remains based, even under new standards. An independent economic assessment published in October 2025 found the European fur sector to be in massive decline and financially unviable. In August 2025, the American mink — one of the primary species farmed for fur — was added to the EU List of Invasive Alien Species, underscoring the ecological risks of the industry. Furthermore, a growing number of experts are calling for an end of the sector to mitigate public health risks, as demonstrated by multiple outbreaks during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and outbreaks of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza on fur farms. Today, fur farming persists in not more than a handful of EU Member States, while trade continues across the single market.