Sir, - Britain has just banned fur farming. I hope our own Government will follow suit and end this abuse of wild animals that are not native to these islands. There are six fur farms in Ireland, all engaged in the raising and killing of mink for the vanity trade.
As such establishments are hidden away from the public gaze, few people are aware of how the animals are treated. At each farm, thousands of mink are imprisoned in tiny cages. These are lined up in neat rows inside corrugated sheds. Confinement in a small space is unnatural to mink.
These semi-aquatic, solitary creatures are used to the wide open countryside, and cannot cope with the stress and terror resulting from captivity. In their own environment, mink are free to bathe and swim and dart about freely. A mink cage is less than 40cm high and has a floor space of 90x30cm - a far cry from the wilderness.
The animals cannot even stand up fully on their hind legs in the cages. Confinement leads to abnormal development and great suffering. For example, they resort to self-mutilation and cannibalism.
Their cruel captivity culminates in a vicious and inhumane death. To avoid damaging their coats - mink have to be killed in ways that leave no marks on the carcasses. They are either suffocated or electrocuted.
It takes up to 60 mink to make a fur coat. British fur farms killed around 100,000 mink per year until Tony Blair's government outlawed the practice last week. The new law came too late to help the past victims of inhumanity, but it offers protection to a much maligned species and reflects well on those politicians who found the courage to face down the fur industry.
The group I represent intends to lobby all TDs and Senators, requesting a ban on mink farms in Ireland. - Your, etc.
John Fitzgerald,Campaign for the Abolition of Cruel Sports & Practices, Callen, Co Kilkenny.