Polish fur business booming
PR dla Zagranicy
Nick Hodge
30.01.2014 09:33
Poland has established itself as a leading global exporter of furs and the controversial business is developing at a rapid rate.
Image: wikipedia
Over 750 fur farms operate in Poland at present, and the number typically increases by over a dozen each year.
“The estimated value of the industry is about 5 million zloty (1.18 million euros) that is invested in the Polish countryside,” says Szczepan Wojcik, deputy chairman of the Polish Association of Breeders and Producers Animal Fur.
About 50,000 people work in the industry, including farm-workers, vets, as well as manufacturers of feed and equipment.
According to Wojcik, about 400,000 euros generated from fur exports each year are invested in expanding the industry.
Poland produces 10 million mink furs per year, as well as 250,000 fox furs and 50,000 racoon dog furs.
Although fur-farming is banned in several countries, foreign entrepreneurs keen to invest in the business have joined local investors, opening farms in Poland.
Nevertheless, the anti-fur movement has also grown in Poland since the collapse of communism, with activists claiming that animals on certain farms live in unacceptably cramped conditions.
A mink farm owned by Andrzej Piatak, an MP for the liberal Palikot's Movement Party, has been the focus of anti-fur protests on several occasions. (nh)
Source: interia.pl