Norway to ban all fur farming, saving 700,000 minks and 110,000 foxes per year

Norway will ban all fur farming by 2025, the country's leading animal rights organisation announced on Monday (15 January).

The Norwegian Animal Rights Organisation (NOAH) said on its Facebook page that the government has vowed to close all the fur farms in the Scandinavian nation by 2025.

Norway is estimated to have over 300 fur farms, which kill more than 700,000 minks and 110,000 foxes each year, according to PETA.

The animal rights group described the ban as a "massive victory for animals." A 2014 documentary by PETA revealed the barbaric conditions animals live in on fur farms.

Animals were filmed dying from starvation, thirst and untreated wounds. Some of the animals were driven insane after being kept in tiny cages and ended up becoming cannibals.

Last year, the issue gained worldwide attention after photos emerged of overweight foxes being bred in tiny cages on Finnish fur farms.

Norwegian campaigners have been calling for a ban for over a decade. In 2016, NOAH organised Europe's largest ever anti-fur protest, with more than 13,000 demonstrators taking part.

Camilla Björkbom, chairman of the Animal Society Right, said Norway's decision was "great news, not least for all the animals that are now not born and killed for their fur in Norway, but also because it sets a good example for Sweden and the upcoming Swedish investigation."

Fur farming has been banned in the UK for over a decade. It remains legal in Ireland, where more than 150,000 animals are gassed and skinned every year.

Last year, both Germany and the Czech Republic banned fur farming after mounting public pressure.