The French government has announced today that it will introduce a ban on the breeding of animals for their fur as well as on wild zoo animals and marine mammals in captivity, reacting to months of heavy media criticism over ghastly footage and pictures released by French animal rights activists.The announcement was made Tuesday in Paris by France's Minister of Ecological Transition Barbara Pompili, who called the policy move “a new era in our relationship with these animals”.Without going into details, the minister said that animals will be progressively banned from travelling circuses and that it will no longer be legal to breed minks for their fur in France.
Pompili furthermore said that breeding and keeping killer whales and dolphins in the country's oceanariums will no longer be allowed going forward.“Big cats, elephants, killer whales, dolphins or even mink: it is time to open a new era in our relationship with these animals.
Today, I present measures to improve the welfare of captive wildlife,” the minister said in a twitter announcement from her ministry.The news comes after numerous reports in the media and by animal rights activists of cases of animal cruelty in circuses, on farms, and in oceanariums across the country.The minister did not say when the new bans will take effect.
She said: “Setting a date does not solve all problems, I prefer to put in place a process so that this happens as fast as possible.”She did, however, add that “solutions would be found case by case, with every circus, for every animal.”