High risk of animal-to-human diseases developing in some China fur farms, welfare group says

Who tf still wears fur?!

This is the best summary I could come up with:

The farms in China’s northern Hebei and Liaoning provinces each held between 2,000 and 4,000 animals in intensive conditions, including in close proximity to poultry, HSI said.

Alastair MacMillan, a visiting professor at Surrey University’s Veterinary School, said the high stocking density of the animals facilitates the rapid spread of viruses on droplets from one to another, and potentially to humans.

China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs did not respond to requests for comment regarding the conditions on the fur farms and the risk of disease spread.

MacMillan said that from a disease transmission and public health perspective the footage was extremely worrying as it is well known that animals farmed for their fur are susceptible to respiratory viruses that can infect humans.

Data from the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic briefly uploaded to a database by Chinese scientists last year suggested raccoon dogs may also have been involved in coronavirus reaching humans.

Social media platforms such as e-commerce site Xiaohongshu and Weibo showed users discussing wearing fur as desirable and practical for keeping warm.

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