Croatia has banned fur farms. A press release from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

Animal advocates around the globe celebrated when Croatia decided to ban fur farms, effective January 1, 2017, after a 10-year-long phase-out period. But the ban was consistently threatened by the fur industry, which didn’t want the law to go into effect.

Ultimately, though, Croatia’s Ministry of Agriculture listened to the concerned public and animal rights groups, and we’re happy to announce that the country’s complete ban on fur farming went into effect at the start of the new year!

A big thanks is also due to Sharon Osbourne, who encourages everyone to refuse to wear fur coats or trim. When the Croatian fur ban was under fire, she urged the country’s minister of agriculture to uphold a complete ban and sent him a PETA video revealing how chinchillas suffer and die on fur farms.

The demand for chinchilla fur has resulted in the near extinction of the rodent. Originally found only in South America in communities of up to 100 members, chinchillas are now bred worldwide by fur farmers or pet store distributors who then sell them.

For years, PETA eyewitnesses have uncovered the torture that these animals endure. On many fur farms, they suffer from painful seizures after being electrocuted or their necks are broken while they’re still conscious. On a fur farm in Vista, California, which PETA helped shut down, one of the owners admitted to splinting broken bones herself as well as to amputating limbs with wire snips and six drops of brandy.