Minister of Agriculture Lana Popham Asked ToBan All Fur Farms at NDP Fundraiser Event
Bingo Night Disrupted by Activist’s Concern for AllowingChinchilla & Fox Fur Farms in B.C. Despite Public Health Risks
Saanich, BC – An NDP fundraising event with Lana Popham and David Eby [who was absent due to unstated circumstances] at Floyd’s Diner in Saanich, raised more than just funds. Two activists, Susan M’Gonigle and Maggie Hertzberg joined the music trivia and bingo night, to raise concerns about fur farming in the province.
Upon declaring “BINGO,” M’Gonigle rose from her seat to ask Popham why only mink fur farms were banned in B.C., as opposed to all fur farming “Minister Popham, why haven’t you banned all fur farms in BC? Farming chinchilla, fox, and other animals for their fur still pose a risk to public health, just like mink. Please ban ALL fur farms,” she announced to the Minister and event attendees.
In November 2021, the Ministry of Agriculture in conjunction with the Ministry of Health, announced the phase out of all existing mink fur farms in the province of British Columbia, following various COVID-19 outbreaks at the farms. “This is a significant step forward, however, no legislation is in place to prevent other high-risk fur farms from establishing in B.C.,” M’Gonigle said in a statement.
Second to mink fur, fox fur has the highest rate of production in Canada. An FOI request, filed by the advocacy organization Ban Fur Farms BC (BFFBC) revealed that during the pandemic, an inquiry regarding a potential new fox fur farm in Langley was being entertained. BFFBC stated that “any fur farm is an ideal site for not only COVID-19 transmission, but other viruses. We are aware that farmed mink tested positive for past select strains of the avian flu, which is currently spreading rapidly throughout farms in BC. If the impetus behind the mink farm phase-out was rooted around public health concerns, and Popham values and prioritizes the safety of BC farming communities, it’s only consistent that B.C. takes action to ban all fur farms which pose the same risk.”
Furthermore, BFFBC raises climate concerns, stating that any fur farms are “potentially catastrophic to the environment, impacting the surrounding agricultural lands, farms, and waterways.” M’Gonigle added, “I wish I didn’t have to disrupt this event, but during a pandemic and climate crisis, it is governmentally irresponsible to not ban all fur farms.”
BFFBC and M’Gonigle are both requesting that the Ministry of Agriculture institute a provincial fur farm ban, phasing out the only remaining farm outside of mink (a chinchilla fur farm in Northern B.C.), and implements legislation which will permanently halt the establishment of new fur farms.
Video footage of the disruption is available from Ban Fur Farms BC, by request.
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