Veterinarian surprised at Prime Minister Vanhanen’s comments on fur-farm footage

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The current affairs television programme A Studio aired by the Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE) in February showed video material secretly taken by the animal welfare group Oikeutta eläimille (“Justice for Animals”) at Finnish fur farms.
     
In his blog last weekend, Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen attacked both Oikeutta eläimille and YLE, saying that the pictures of ill animals must have been taken in ”sick wards” of the fur farms.
      Veterinarian Eeva Rudbäck from the Korkeasaari Zoo was amazed at the comments of the Finnish Prime Minister.
      ”He did not really think over what he wrote”, Rudbäck notes, commenting the text in Vanhanen’s blog.
     
According to Rudbäck, the pictures show that the animals have been ill for a long time.
      Included in the material is a picture of two foxes in their cage. The tail of one fox has been bitten off, and yet the animal has not been removed from the cage.
      Another fox exhibited decubitus ulcers, and its legs were in an awkward position possibly following peripheral neuropathy caused by the bottom of the wire-netting cage.
      Vanhanen wrote that ”we have millions of production animals, and every day some of them fall ill”. ”Just like we humans. For example eye infections are also possible in animals”, Vanhanen noted.
     
However, Rudbäck says that one cannot compare human beings with foxes. For genetical reasons, foxes as well as some dogs can have fur growing in an eye, irritating it, and causing an infection.
      ”The animal should be treated, and if it were a pet, this would happen”, Rudbäck adds.
      Oikeutta eläimille sent an open letter to Vanhanen through the media, urging the premier to find out more about the facts of fur farming.
      On Monday, Vanhanen was unwilling to answer the questions asked by Helsingin Sanomat relating this issue.
     
In his text Vanhanen pointed out that the cages will be enlarged to at least 0.8 square metres by the end of the year.
      Rydbäck says that this will not improve the situation. Foxes would like to dig the ground and sometimes hide themselves.
      ”In the wild, foxes have a cave system with several entrances as well as a cliff onto which they climb to watch out for enemies”, Rydbäck notes.
     
In Rudbäck’s opinion, wire-netting cages are not suitable for foxes, as it is difficult for fox cubs to feed off their mother if their legs are hanging down through the bottom of the cage.
      Tuula Dahlman, the Executive Manager of the Finnish Fur Breeders’ Association (STKL), said on Monday that these pictures have nothing to do with the everyday life at Finnish fur farms.
      How do we know that these images show just isolated cases?
      ”I can tell that from my own experience. I frequently visit fur farms and can see what it looks like there”, Dahlman comments.
      Following the television programme, municipal veterinarians inspected 15 fur farms. Defects were found at three of them (see earlier story).


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Violations of regulations found on three Finnish fur farms (1.3.2010)
  Animal rights group releases shocker video of fur farm conditions (18.2.2010)

Links:
  Finnish Fur Breeders´ Association (STKL)

Helsingin Sanomat