Israel announced a ban Wednesday on the sale of fur in the fashion trade, earning praise from the International Anti-Fur Coalition as the "first entire nation" to impose such a ban.
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"Commerce in animal fur, imports, and exports will be banned except for the needs of research, study, or certain religious traditions," the Environmental Protection Ministry said in a statement.
Fur is used for hats called "shtreimels" worn by some ultra-Orthodox Jews.
IT'S OFFICIAL: Israel has become the first country in the world to ban the sale of fur!
This historic victory will protect countless foxes, minks, rabbits, and other animals from being violently killed for their skin. https://t.co/S9T5I5jfIP pic.twitter.com/K6HBWq4NSC
— PETA (@peta) June 9, 2021
"On this historic day, Israel has set an ethical precedent, and hopefully other nations shall join them and ban the sale of barbaric and cruel blood fashion fur," the Anti-Fur coalition wrote on its Facebook page.
"Israel became the first entire nation to be FUR FREE," it said, against a backdrop of bans in some international cities and the US state of California.
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The ban is set to take effect in six months.
Animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals called for other countries to follow suit on health grounds.
"Cramming sick and stressed animals together in unsanitary conditions on fur farms creates the perfect breeding ground for deadly diseases," PETA said.
"The novel coronavirus has been found on mink fur farms in a dozen countries," it noted.
This article was first published by i24NEWS.
