CHICAGO (March 10, 2025) – On Wednesday, the Chicago City Council is expected to vote in favor of an ordinance to end the sale of new fur products, doing away with the city’s support for the cruel fur trade. Introduced by Raymond Lopez, alderman of the 15th Ward, Ordinance 2983, Trade in Fur Products will prohibit the sale of new fashion and home accessories made with animal fur, while providing commonsense exemptions for used fur products and those intended for religious purposes. In addition to Alderman Lopez, 22 aldermen, nearly half the City Council, have cosponsored the ordinance.
The fur industry has long been associated with extreme animal cruelty. Every year, tens of millions of wild animals like foxes, mink and raccoon dogs are held captive and killed in fur factory farms solely for fashion. While most fur factory farms are located in China, around 100 mink fur operations are thought to remain in the United States. The animals in these factory farms are not protected by state or federal humane slaughter laws or animal welfare standards because they are not being raised for food. Their operators force animals to live in cramped, wire-bottom cages, and kill them by gassing or electrocution. The sale of fur products in Chicago and throughout the U.S. help drive the demand that fuels this cruelty.
Chicago’s fur sales ordinance comes just weeks after a massive fur farm rescue involving public agencies and nonprofit animal response teams took place in Ashtabula County, Ohio. There, local agencies called in Humane World for Animals—formerly called the Humane Society of the United States—to assist with the removal of more than 300 animals including foxes, coyotes, skunks and wolf-hybrids. In addition to fur, the animals were being used for urine collection (used in hunting and gardening) and were bred and sold as exotic pets.
“Chicago must do its part to help end the global fur trade and prevent immense cruelty to millions of animals,” said Alderman Lopez. “There is simply no need to allow wild animals to suffer in factory farms where they are killed solely for fashion. The ordinance allows local retailers time to transition away from animal fur towards more humane products such as eco-friendly faux fur alternatives. Chicago can be a leader in compassion & empathy by ending the sale of new fur products March 12th!”
“We are thankful to Alderman Lopez for introducing this ordinance to end the sale of new fur products in Chicago,” said Marc Ayers, Illinois state director for Humane World for Animals. “This is a pivotal moment for Chicago to take a stand against an outdated, unregulated and inherently cruel industry that the vast majority of Americans reject. Passing this ordinance would not only align with public sentiment but set a powerful example for other cities to follow.”
There are growing efforts across the U.S. and internationally to end the fur trade, after years of industry decline. Sixteen municipalities in the U.S. and the entire state of California have passed legislation ending the sale of new fur products.
Ending the sale of new fur products will by no means shut down businesses as many argue. Most major fashion brands and retailers are fur-free, and those that currently sell fur can remain in business under these laws by continuing to provide storage, repair and cleaning services, and may continue to sell used, faux and vintage fur products. Alderman Lopez and representatives from Humane World for Animals have invited local fur retailers to an informational meeting on Monday afternoon to hear their concerns and Identify ways to limit potential impacts to their businesses while complying with the proposed ordinance.
By passing the Trade in Fur Products ordinance, Chicago can similarly do its part to end the city’s role in this needless suffering while still supporting the local business community.
Additional facts:
- Polling shows that 71% of Americans oppose the killing of animals for fur.
- The Chicago Fashion Coalition publicly announced support for the Trade in Fur Products ordinance on Instagram.
- Other major cities that have passed similar legislation include Los Angeles and San Francisco. Minneapolis has a prohibition on fur stores. Ann Arbor, Michigan, and a number of cities and towns in Massachusetts, Colorado and other states have also passed fur sales bans.
- According to 2023 data from the Observatory of Economic Complexity, the U.S. is the third largest importer of fur apparel ($165M), behind Russia ($802M) and South Korea ($214M). Following California's ban on fur sales in 2023, U.S. Census data has Illinois as the 6th largest seller of fur in the country, so it's likely a significant amount of fur imported into the U.S. ends up in the Chicago market.
- The majority of fur products sold in the U.S. are imported and made from fox fur, with China producing the large majority of fox fur for the global market. In 2022 alone, 8.4 million foxes were raised and killed for their fur in China. Like the U.S., China has practically no animal welfare standards for these animals.
- According to 2022 data, the U.S. is tied with Greece as the third largest producer of mink fur in the world, second only to China and Poland. However, fur production is on a steep decline, with mink production in the U.S. dropping 15% between 2021 and 2022 alone.
- Fur factory farms in the U.S. and overseas have proven to be vectors for diseases such as COVID-19 and highly pathogenic avian influenza, creating serious threats to public health.
- Mink to human transmission of COVID-19 has been reported in at least six countries so far, including the U.S.
- Highly pathogenic avian flu (H5N1) has been detected in a mink farm in Spain and multiple fur farms in Finland.
- Fur production has enormous environmental costs such as high energy consumption, pollution and animal emissions. On fur factory farms, waste runoff pollutes soil and waterways. The tanning and dying process uses toxic and carcinogenic chemicals, such as chromium and formaldehyde.
- Moreover, research has shown that per kilogram, fur has the highest greenhouse gas emissions of all fashion materials -- as much as 31 times higher than cotton and 25 times higher than polyester.
- The European Commission is currently reviewing a petition to end all fur farming and fur sales throughout Europe. More than 20 countries have already banned fur farming, including Norway, France, Italy, Belgium, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and, most recently, Romania.
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About Humane World for Animals
Together, we tackle the root causes of animal cruelty and suffering to create permanent change. With millions of supporters and work happening in over 50 countries, Humane World for Animals—formerly called the Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society International—addresses the most deeply entrenched forms of animal cruelty and suffering. As the leading voice in the animal protection space, we work to end the cruelest practices, care for animals in crisis and build a stronger animal protection movement. Driving toward the greatest global impact, we aim to achieve the vision behind our name: a more humane world.