WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/TBT/N/NLD/80 
9 April 2008 
 (08-1617) 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Original:   English 
  
NOTIFICATION 
 
The following notification is being circ ulated in accordance with Article 10.6. 
 
1. Member to Agreement notifying:   THE NETHERLANDS
 
If applicable, name of local government involved (Articles 3.2 and 7.2):         
2. Agency responsible:   Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality 
Name and address (including telephone and fax numbers, e-mail and web-site 
addresses, if available) of  agency or authority designated to handle comments 
regarding the notification shall be indicated if different from above:   National Enquiry 
Point – EC WTO TBT Enquiry Point 
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [  X ], 2.10.1 [   ], 5.6.2 [   ], 5.7.1 [   ], other:         
4. Products covered (HS or CCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff heading.
ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where applicable):   Production of fur/fleeces 
from animals that are kept solely, or mainly, with a view to obtaining their fur, on the 
understanding that the fur/fleece production is not a by-product of, for example, meat 
production. 
5. Title, number of pages and langua ge(s) of the notified document:   Legislative proposal 
by MPs van Velzen and Waalkens concerning a ban on fur animal farming (Act banning fur 
animal farming) (14 pages, in English). 
6. Description of content:   In the Netherlands, foxes, chinchillas and mink are kept for fur  
production. Pursuant to the Decree designa ting animals that are kept for production 
purposes, foxes and chinchillas may be kept for production purposes until no later than 1 
April 2008. No provisions have as yet been made to end mink farming.  
The legislative proposal concerns an initiativ e by Members of the House of Representatives 
of the Dutch Parliament. The legislative proposal  prohibits in general the killing, or having 
killed, of animals with the sole, or main, view  of obtaining their fur. Since this ban also 
provides for the keeping of mink, the legisl ative proposal introduces a transitional regime 
for ending mink farming in the Netherlands. Th e legislative proposal leaves the transitional 
regime for keeping foxes and chinchillas – as laid down in the above-mentioned Decree 
designating animals that are kept for production purposes - intact.  
The legislative proposal provides for a 10-year transitional period so as to give mink 
keepers the opportunity of recouping their investments. It is not the intention of the MPs in question to promote that, during the discussion of the legislative proposal, new companies 
are established or for existing mink farms to be extended after 17 January 2008. This is 
why, in principle, mink keepers will only qualif y for the 10-year transitional period who:  
- from 17 January 2008, keep mink as fur animals on a continuous basis, or  
- who did not keep mink as fur animals on 17 January 2008, but who on 17 January 
2008, already had the required licences and shelters for keeping mink.  G/TBT/N/NLD/80 
Page 2  
 
  In order to do justice to the intention to e nd mink farming indefinitely  in due course, those 
who have taken over a mink farm after 17 Ja nuary 2008 will not qualify for transitional 
legislation, unless the transfer has taken place under extenuating circumstances on the part 
of the transferring party. Extenuating circum stances, however, apply only when the mink 
farmer is suffering great financial damage because:  
- as a result of sudden incapacity for work, he is no longer in a position to keep mink,  
- the mink farm forms part of a community to  be divided and the mink farm, as equity 
capital, has to be sold in order to be  able to divide the community, or  
- upon reaching the age of 65, he is not prepar ed, or unable, to continue the mink farm. 
When there are no extenuating circumstances, transfer of a mink farm after 17 January 2008 
means that the party obtaining the mink farm w ill, once the legislative proposal has entered 
into effect, not qualify for the transitional period and will need to cease the mink farm 
activities. Mink farmers are, of course, free to close down their mink farms prematurely or convert them into other businesses.  
Conditions to qualify for the transitional period  
In order to qualify for the transitional period, mink farmers must notify the Minister for 
Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality within f our weeks of the Act entering into effect. 
They need to impart the following information:  
- the number of mink they are allowed to k eep in accordance with their licences;  
- the number of shelters that were availabl e on 17 January 2008 at the mink farm;  
- the number of mink they keep at the time of registration;  
- the place, or places, where the mink are kept on 17 January 2008; and  
- the place, or places, where the mink are kept at the time of registration. 
Moreover, they must meet the following conditions during the transitional period:  
- they need to have complied with the above-mentioned notification obligation;  
- they need to keep the mink in a shelter that at least meets the requirements laid down 
in the Regulation on standards for welfare standards for mink (PPE) 2003, as these 
read on 17 January 2008;  
- they must not at any time keep more mink than the number of mink for which a 
licence, as referred to in Article 8.1 of th e Environmental Management Act, has been 
issued;  
- they must not at any time keep more mink than the number of shelters which were 
available on 17 January 2008 for keeping this type of mink at the mink farm, and  
- they must keep the mink at the same location as that at which mink were kept at the 
time of notification, or at another location, provided that the old location has ceased 
to be a mink farm and this move h as been notified to our Minister.  
In order to avoid any misundersta nding, it is noted that the initia tive proposal only pertains 
to fur animals that are kept commercially w ith a view to producing fur. The keeping of 
animals other than for the production of fur, such as the keeping of an animal as a pet, will remain permitted. Equally, the keeping of an imals whose fur is obtained as a by-product of, 
for example, meat production, is not prohibited.  
Articles 2, 3 and 4 may contain technical regulations.  G/TBT/N/NLD/80 
 Page 3 
 
 
  7. Objective and rationale, including the na ture of urgent problems where applicable:  
The keeping of animals with the sole aim of obtaining their – economically – valuable fur, 
is, for the following reasons, unacceptable.  
The production of fur is different from the production of foodstuffs in that the production of 
fur does not serve a basic human need.  If the production of fur is the only goal, it is 
unnecessary to compromise animal welfare in any way.  Moreover, alternatives to fur are 
available.  
In the Netherlands, foxes, chinchillas and mink ar e kept for fur production.  Pursuant to the 
Decree designating animals that are kept fo r production purposes, foxes and chinchillas may 
be kept for production purposes until no later than 1 April 2008. No provisions have as yet 
been made to end mink farming.  The present legislative proposal provides for this.  
The present legislative proposal expounds the outlined moral stance which is not primarily 
guided by the nature of the animal species invol ved but by the objective of the farm.  What 
is certain is that if the production of fur is  the goal, it is unnecessary to compromise animal 
welfare in any way.  This is therefore also the reason why the present legislative proposal is 
not prepared to tighten animal welfare or other requirements.  
By way of conclusion, it is noted that there is  no need to include a mutual recognition clause 
in the legislative proposal. The legislative propo sal has no impact on the import of fur that 
has been brought onto the market of another Member State in a lawful manner.  
8. Relevant documents:   Parliamentary Papers II, 2007-2008, 30 826 No 1 to 8 (preliminary 
letter, legislative proposal, explanatory not es, letter by MP Van Velzen, letter by MPs Van 
Velzen and Waalkens, recommendation by C ouncil of State and reaction by submitting 
parties, legislative proposal as amended furt her to the recommendation of the Council of 
State, explanatory notes as amended further to the recommendation of the Council of State). 
9. Proposed date of adoption:   
Proposed date of entry into force:   }- 
10. Final date for comments:   23 June 2008 
11. Texts available from:  National enquiry point [  X ] or address, telephone and fax 
numbers, e-mail and web-site addresses, if available of the other body:  
http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/tbt/