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Press release Aug 31, 2000
Fur Coat Case Rejected by the Supreme Court of Norway
Introduction
In 1998 the Norwegian Federation for Animal Protection took the Norwegian fur industry to court, claiming that fur farming is in breach of the Norwegian Animal Welfare Act. The main aim was to have fur farming forbidden in Norway.
The Animal Welfare Act states that, "Animals should be treated well, and respect should be paid to their instincts and natural needs, so that they do not risk suffering unnecessarily." (§ 2), and that "People who own or keep domestic animals or animals kept in captivity in any way, are responsible for suitable housing, with enough space,...according to the need of the species in question.", (§ 4).
The Norwegian Federation for Animal Protection argued that both the Parliament and the Norwegian Animal Welfare Committee had already concidered fur farming to be ethically unacceptable. Since laws are usually presumed ethical, the Norwegian Federation for Animal Protection claimed that these statements indirectly indicated that fur farming violates the principles of the Animal Welfare Act.
In 1974, the Norwegian Parliament accepted that "Concidering the need for fur...fur farming could not be accepted ethically as long as sufficently warm clothes could be produced from other fabric...". In 1994, the Norwegian Animal Ethics Commitee, established by the Ministry of Agriculture, concluded that "If one places decisive weight on animal well-being and wellfare, it is the Animal Ethics Committee's view that the farming methods practised at present are unacceptable."
The Court of Appeal
In 1999 the Court of Appeal stated that "...the way that fox and mink are farmed is not in accordance with the basic and fundamental needs of the animals...", and, as a consequence, "...from a purely ethical point of view, fur farming would not be acceptable."
Nevertheless, the Court of Appeal did not conclude that fur farming is illegal. The main reason for this was that the Court of Appeal did not assume itself competent to overrule the Norwegian Parliament, which established the Act of Animal Welfare, and which, appearently, accepts fur farming even if it is concidered to be unethical.
The Norwegian Federation for Animal Protection appealed to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court
In August, 2000 the Supreme Court decided that it would not accept the appeal in question, as it found it clear that the Norwegian Federation for Animal Welfare did not have a chance of winning the case.
This means that the verdict from the Court of Appeal is the final judgement of the Norwegian judicial system on this question.
It also means that our judicial systems accepts unethical results for both verdicts and laws, and admits this for the first time in Norwegian history.
The Norwegian Federation for Animal Protection will continue to work against fur farming.
For more information:
DYREBESKYTTELSEN NORGE (Norwegian Federation for Animal Protection)
Storgata 38
NO-0182 Olso
Norway
tel. +47 22 20 23 00
fax. +47 22 94 32 81
e-mail: post@dyrebeskyttelsen.no
internet: www.dyrebeskyttelsen.no
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