An assessor is currently examining compensation claims made by fur farms following their closure last year due to a government-imposed ban.
The Animal Health and Welfare and Forestry (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2021 passed its final stage in the Seanad on March 29, 2022 and was then signed into law by President Michael D. Higgins on April 4, 2022.
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue signed the commencement order to enact the legislation on December 9.
Prior to the ban, there were three active farms in Ireland, in counties Kerry, Donegal and Laois, breeding and rearing mink for the purpose of pelting for the fur industry.
In total, the maximum number of mink across the three farms was estimated at 110,000.
Fur farms
In a recent parliamentary question, Fine Gael TD and former minister for agriculture, Michael Creed asked Minister Charlie McConalogue for an update on the closures and the reason for the delay in paying compensation to the operators of the fur farms.
The minister said that it has been confirmed that there are no longer any live mink on any of the three farms.
McConalogue said that he appointed an assessor last December 6, to administer the state compensation scheme in respect of the closure of the businesses.
“To date, applications have been received from two of the three businesses affected by the ban on mink farming,” he said.
The assessor is currently examining these applications and is expected to make a decision “shortly” in relation to certain aspects of compensation, such as loss of income.
Minister McConalogue noted that other aspects of the compensation scheme, including for demolition, will take more time as the farmers carry out the work and submit their applications.
He said that “the overall cost of compensation package is not available at this time”.
It was previously estimated that the total compensation paid to the three farms will range from €4 million to €8 million.
In 2018, the Veterinary Council of Ireland (VCI) recommended an immediate ban on fur farming citing animal welfare concerns.
As part of the Programme for Government, the coalition committed to proceeding with the ban.