Health and well-being of fur animals
Saga Furs through its strict certification system actively contributes to the advancement of animal welfare on fur farms. WelFur certification is the most important tool in the measurement of animal welfare but also Saga Certification has tools for assess.
The international fashion industry is very interested in the conditions in which fur animals are bred. In order to support its partners, Saga Furs must have a means of guidance in the matter. However, within the value chain, animal welfare is ultimately the responsibility of the individual fur farm entrepreneurs who operate at the beginning of the value chain.
Saga Certification is the most important management system connected to animal welfare in Finland. Saga Certification, launched in 2005, is a comprehensive quality management system that places a high emphasis on animal welfare and health. Starting from 2017, Saga Certification includes the WelFur protocol, which is an additional science-based animal welfare assessment. As of 2021, WelFur is part of Furmark, the comprehensive global certification system that guarantees animal welfare. It includes several local certification programmes for different natural fur types. Saga Furs is developing Furmark, and we ensure that the pelts that we sell on behalf of our farm customers are certified. By offering certified pelt lots in its auctions, Saga Furs makes a commitment to ethical and sustainable fur production.
To promote animal well-being and safety, Saga Furs expects all fur farms to comply with the Council of Europe’s recommendation on fur farming or equivalent national or regional regulations or standards. Furthermore, the company reserves the right to abstain from selling or grading pelts that do not comply with current legislation or standards of fur farming or that come from areas that do not have such legislation or standards.
This also applies to situations in which a fur farm or its owners support fur farming in a country or region that does not have formal standards in place. The company monitors that these conditions are met, and if it finds pelts in its own sales or grading selections that do not meet Saga Furs’ criteria, these pelts will be removed from the auction and returned to the owner.
Well-being and health is important part of quality
Animal health and welfare are an absolute prerequisite for high-quality animal breeding. On certified fur farms, animal welfare is promoted with immediate and preventive measures. These include:
1. Control of any infectious diseases
2. Compliance with FFBA vaccination recommendations
3. Daily monitoring and documentation of animal health
4. Euthanising animals within the farm location
Read more:
Certification
WelFur
Traceability
Fur farmer Isosaari: “Quality certification and WelFur are vital to the business”