In 2012 and 2013 the Norwegian animal activist, Frank Nervik,
worked undercover at Norwegian fur farms. What he found was shocking.
Frank used a spy camera, inserted in his shirt button.
In Norway we have around 270 fur farms. Over one million animals get killed every year. The Norwegian fur farm industry receives 40 million kroner every year, which translates to around 15 million dollars. In the wild, the mink swims every day, and they often live close to the water. But in the fur farms, they never bathe. They live in cages the size of a shopping cart.
The Norwegian production company, Piraya Films, in collaboration with Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) produced the documentary, Pels, which means fur in Norwegian. Frank Nervik, a Norwegian psychologist, and animal activist was willing to go undercover at randomly chosen fur farms all over Norway to get a behind the scenes look at the fur industry. His cover story was to volunteer at a fur farm because he wanted to learn how to start his own fur farm. With his offer of free labor, he was allowed to see what really goes on behind closed doors.
The undercover investigation revealed:
-illegal lifting after tail with tongs
-illegal use of lifting tongs
-unlawful killing of minks
-handling of wounds and injuries not in line with regulations
-it revealed sub-standard care and feeding that was in violation of legal requirements
Unfortunately, any further investigation by police has been dismissed supposedly due to lack of time, but likely it's because they didn't want to get involved.
The Norwegian production company, Piraya Films, in collaboration with Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) produced the documentary, Pels, which means fur in Norwegian. Frank Nervik, a Norwegian psychologist, and animal activist was willing to go undercover at randomly chosen fur farms all over Norway to get a behind the scenes look at the fur industry. His cover story was to volunteer at a fur farm because he wanted to learn how to start his own fur farm. With his offer of free labor, he was allowed to see what really goes on behind closed doors.
The undercover investigation revealed:
-illegal lifting after tail with tongs
-illegal use of lifting tongs
-unlawful killing of minks
-handling of wounds and injuries not in line with regulations
-it revealed sub-standard care and feeding that was in violation of legal requirements
Unfortunately, any further investigation by police has been dismissed supposedly due to lack of time, but likely it's because they didn't want to get involved.
NRK wanted to show Pels on their Investigation TV show, Brennpunkt, which aired (after a lot of discussion between Piraya and the fur industry) December 9, 2014 for one hour and eight minutes. It included an interview with the Norwegian animal police (mattilsynet) and with the leader of the Norwegian Fur Association, Guri wormdahl. The politician, Sandra Boch, who supports the fur industry, was planning to join the show, but she actually got death threats if she joined the show. The police are currently investigating the threats, so I haven’t gotten any more info about that.
As of today's blog, it's been a couple of weeks since the documentary aired, and just as Frank Nervik shocked the Norwegian audience for days, things have now calmed down, almost as quickly as they erupted. Will people remember what this documentary exposed? Will they care? Will fewer people buy fur coats and fur trimmed clothing as a result of learning about the abuse? We’ll have to wait and see.
My name is Bendik Klein and I’m your reporter from Norway!
My name is Bendik Klein and I’m your reporter from Norway!
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