MP under fire from activists after fur body pays for trip

Philip Davies, MP for Shipley in West Yorkshire, said he visited a mink farm to see how the animal is kept, treated and killed, while other activities on the three-day visit to Copenhagen with his assistant included attending a fur auction and a fur design studio.

Industry representative body the British Fur Trade Association (BFTA) confirmed it donated and organised the trip after the Shipley MP expressed an interest in learning more about the fur trade to its officials at last year’s Conservative Party conference.

This included information on welfare standards and how the industry works, Mr Davies said as he added he did not believe anyone tried to “cover up or shield anything” from him in Denmark.

But the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) labelled Mr Davies’ decision to go on a trip “paid for by blood money” as “shameful”, claiming he would have been shown the most sanitised fur farms.

The details of the donation are included in a register of interests for MPs and the trip appears to be the first of its kind included on the register for the current Parliament elected in 2010.

Mr Davies said he was “quite old-fashioned” and believed people should make decisions on issues based on “facts and evidence, not prejudice”.

He said: “People have different views. I am vehemently opposed to animal cruelty. For some people that’s against animals being killed. I am not against animals being killed, but people being cruel to animals.”

The MP went on: “I think that the industry has moved on a lot in recent years. If somebody started to criticise from an uninformed position, I would feel able to add some balance to the debate.

“At no point has the BFTA asked me – and neither since my visit – to do any lobbying on their behalf and if they did ask me to I would tell them to mind their own business.”

Mr Davies went on the trip during the first three days of the Easter recess.

On accepting a trip from a donor which represents the fur sector, Mr Davies said: “Whatever it maybe it’s legitimate to ask and to understand more about the industry whether it’s journalism, politics or fur.

“I got to see everything I wanted to see.”