“We’re doing really well,” says Akis Tsoukas, president of the Kastoria Furriers Association, describing the situation in the fur industry in Western Macedonia. These are words he has not used for years.
Since 2014, fur had been experiencing a steady decline in the region, due to geopolitical developments but also because Europe and the United States turned their backs on the product, preferring the synthetic version. The biggest blow came with the war in Ukraine in 2022, when exports from EU countries to Russia, which was Western Macedonia’s main market absorbing 90% of its production, were banned. The industry survived thanks to subsidies.
In fashion again
However, this climate has been reversing in recent months, Tsoukas tells Kathimerini, thanks to two factors: the opening up of the Chinese market, which is expressing great interest in the product; and a trend that he interprets as a return to natural fur. “We remembered the good old days. Actors and singers wear natural fur, fashion houses are asking for fur, the whole planet wants fur,” he said.
Tsoukas did not begin to list the famous artists, such as Madonna or Rihanna, who appeared wearing natural fur at a major event, but referred to a more familiar figure for the Greek public: the new US ambassador to Greece, Kimberly Guilfoyle, whom he even invited to attend the International Fur Fair, which has been organized in the city for half a century. He said indicative of the trend is that trade representatives from all over the world are expected to attend the exhibition in the lakeside city, including special missions from Japan and South Korea.
The initiative
While Tsoukas says he is feeling optimistic about the future of the industry, the European Commission is expected to decide whether to proceed with a pan-European ban on the breeding and killing of animals for the purpose of fur production. The commission has been called upon to respond to the request submitted by the European Citizens’ Initiative “Fur Free Europe,” after collecting over 1.5 million signatures from citizens of the member-states.
The pan-European organization Eurogroup for Animals, which is behind the initiative, says that raising animals for their fur is unethical, as the living conditions on fur farms cannot satisfy many of the most basic needs deemed necessary for the welfare of the animals, and that animals living in farms have been observed to exhibit abnormal behaviors, such as repetitive movements that lead to self-harm and even cannibalism.
In statements to Kathimerini, Nick Clark, wild animals program leader at the Eurogroup for Animals, said the report that the European Commission itself commissioned from the European Food Safety Authority, to offer a scientific opinion on the living conditions of animals, is clear in the following: “The majority of the consequences suffered by animals cannot be prevented or substantially mitigated within the framework of existing farming systems, which means that there is no standard of care that can substantially improve the welfare of wild animals on fur farms. Wild animals cannot express their natural behaviors, regardless of the size or structure of the cages in which they live.”
Subsidies
Clark also raised an economic parameter, saying this is an industry that costs the European Union over €400 million annually and is in impressive decline, depending every year on subsidies. “A similar downward trend is observed in Greece,” he said.
According to a recent report on the economy of the industry, fur farming in the EU has decreased dramatically in the last decade, in relation to the broader global trend. “During the same period, the number of fur farms in the EU has decreased by 73%, the number of leathers by 86%, the value of sales by 92% and employment by 86-92%.”
The sector is also recording a downward trend in Greece, which, along with Finland and Poland, is among the three largest producing countries in the bloc. At the same time, however, for Western Macedonia, which has already been affected by the phaseout of lignite in energy production, fur, an activity that has been present in this part of the country for a century, is a key source of income and employment, especially for the regions of Kastoria and Siatista.
The jobs
“We are talking about about 4,000 employees, 600 manufacturing companies, about 70 fur farms and another 100 businesses active in retail. It is the largest private employer in Western Macedonia. How will they be shuttered?” asks Tsoukas. “In 2019, which was our last best year, exports reached almost €150 million. Who will bring this money here?” he added, pointing that even on the issue of animal welfare – mink, which are mainly bred in the region – the farms have all the necessary European certifications.
Tsoukas said Western Macedonia is largely paying the price of the EU’s embargo on Russia. “In any other case, we would not need financial support from anyone. Furs leave Kastoria and reach the largest fashion houses in the world.” At the moment, some people are proposing a ban without bringing any alternative development for the region, he adds.
Irini Molfesi, president of the Panhellenic Animal Welfare Federation, which participates in the Eurogroup for Animals, told Kathimerini that, unlike other countries, Greece has not yet brought this issue to the public for debate, which needs to be done by informing and involving all interested parties. This constitutes a missed opportunity, she said. “In reality, it is a sector that survives only because it receives subsidies – that is, it is an activity that the state keeps alive at the expense of other sectors. The government, the current one and every government, should use the current activity in Brussels to ensure that the abolition [of fur farming] is done in a coordinated way, in a way that will help these regions in the transition. In other words, it is an opportunity for us here in Greece to make the transition correctly and with EU money,” Molfesi says.
According to data, 23 EU member-states have taken action through full or partial bans. The main countries that still allow the practice are Poland, Finland and Greece.
An ‘oracle’ from the commission
Leaks in the European press report that the European Commission will not proceed with a ban on fur farming. “Fur Free Europe” filed a complaint with the European ombudsman, expressing concern that the commission does not ensure the balanced participation of stakeholders in the decision-making process. Clark told Kathimerini that he is “extremely concerned about the possibility that the European Commission will choose to refer to so-called ‘standards,’ instead of imposing a ban.”
Asked by Kathimerini, a European Commission spokesperson responded that from the assessment and external study it conducted to evaluate the impact of different possible options (a ban, imposing a regulatory framework or taking no action), the commission proceeded with a series of consultations in which all interested parties participated. “The results of the assessment and the commission’s conclusions will be communicated in the coming weeks.”