Fur farming in BiH to be banned unless law is amended, Islamic Community also against it

Delegates of the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH will consider on April 27 the request of delegate Marijo Karamatić for the Bill amending the Law on Protection and Welfare of Animals at a session, reports the Patria News Agency.

The law is being amended because it states that the keeping of fur-bearing animals will be prohibited from January 1, 2018. Otherwise, the current law is a copy of the one from neighboring Croatia, which has also deleted this article.

Fur farming will be illegal if these amendments to the law are not made. In BiH, several people breed chinchillas, martens, and minks and support their families from it.

At previous sessions, Karamatić pointed out that "furs from BiH are among the highest quality" and that "when producing animals for fur, i.e., fur-bearing animals, it is a 100 percent domestic Bosnian-Herzegovinian product.".

Along with the bill, the opinion on the ethological aspects and welfare of chinchillas in farm production from the Veterinary Institute (University of Sarajevo, Veterinary Faculty Sarajevo, Center for Poultry and Rabbit Farming), a Report on the visit/Opinion on the housing and condition of chinchillas in a suitable production facility, and a Letter of support for the activities of the Association of Chinchilla Breeders and Supporters from the Ministry of Agriculture, Water Management and Forestry of the Una-Sana Canton were also submitted.

The Constitutional-Legal Committee of the House of Peoples of the BiH PA stated that the Bill is in compliance with Article 95 of the Rules of Procedure of the House of Peoples.

The Bill, in its structure, form, and style, reflects the rules for drafting legal regulations, as prescribed by the Uniform Rules for Drafting Legal Regulations in the Institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and is harmonized with the Uniform Rules for Drafting Legal Regulations in the Institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina – the Committee stated.

However, the Islamic Community does not recommend breeding chinchillas for their fur from which someone would gain economic benefit.

Animals should be treated humanely, not cruelly. Breeding chinchillas, especially killing them, seems to involve such treatment (cruel). Several people have asked questions about chinchillas. We have not heard of anyone being successful in this business. We would not recommend it to you – the Islamic Community answers numerous inquiries about chinchilla farming.

Namely, when it is time to slaughter these animals, the method of breaking the spine in the neck area is used, and there is also the method of gas suffocation, which is considerably more expensive.