Sickening footage showing a cannibalised mink, a decomposing fox and shivering cubs at fur farms in Finland has exposed the horrifying nature of the fur industry that sells millions of pounds worth of pelts to the UK every year.

Taken by animal rights activists from Humane Society International in the world's second biggest fur exporter, the video also showed a fox's corpse being trampled, and animals ramming themselves against the side of their cages.

The UK banned fur farming almost two decades ago but allowed animal fur imports to continue, which have since amounted to £820million according to campaigners.

It is hoped the heart-wrenching videos, taken at 13 farms between April and October 2019, will re-energise calls for a ban on future UK fur imports.

Warning distressing content

Sickening footage has exposed the true horror of Finnish fur farms after it depicted a mink, pictured, with its head partially cannibalised

A shivering youngster was also filmed, pictured, by animal rights activists from Humane Society International, who were investigating the farms

The investigators also found dead mink left to lie inside their cages

The videos show campaigners moving around the farms and looking into cramped cages, where animals can be seen pacing, shivering, or barely moving.

In one a fox had decomposed so much that its bones were sticking out, and being trampled on by fellow caged animals.

While, in a second, tiny babies hung with all four of their limbs sticking through the wire caging.

Animals in these cages can be electrocuted, killed and skinned when they are just eight months old, claimed fur farm investigator and executive director of Humane Society International Claire Bass.

'Around two and a half million are kept like this and killed every single year', she said, 'for the fur trade of which the UK is a part'.

Fur farm investigator and director of Humane Society International Claire Bass, shown at a fur farm in Finland with a mink, said that animals are electrocuted, killed and skinned at the age of eight months

The Only Way is Essex's Pete Wicks said, after visiting a farm where around 4,000 animals were kept, that the smell and the noise were 'indescribable'

'It's just impossible to imagine how anyone justifies thinking that this is an acceptable way to keep animals.

'The suffering is just so totally unacceptable. It's so unnecessary and that's why we need to consign the fur trade to the history books.'

The Only Way is Essex's Pete Wicks, who visited a fur farm where around 4,000 animals are housed, said the smell and the noise are 'indescribable'.

'To be purchasing anything that is from a farm that is like this what you're saying is this is an ok way to treat animals.'

Finnish animal rights organisation Oikeutta Elaimille, that visited the farms with Humane Society International, said that the appalling scenes are 'far from the exception'.

Their spokesman added: 'Small, barren cages and suffering of the animals are the norm in the fur industry.'

The animals were shown being kept inside small wire cages before they are killed for their fur

This fox stayed huddled in a corner of its cage when it was pictured by animal rights activists

This is a front view of a Finnish fur farm, an animal rights campaigner claimed that these appalling scenes are 'far from the exception'

An investigation by Humane Society International last year found mink, foxes and raccoon dogs forced to tear each other apart as they suffered in appalling conditions.

The miserable animals were left with open lacerations on their bodies while trapped in tiny cages in Finland before being taken to slaughter.

Fur farming confines animals for all their lives before they are harvested for the coat on their back - mink are killed by gassing and foxes and raccoon dogs are killed by anal electrocution.

In response to the investigation, a spokesperson for the Finnish Fur Breeders’ Association (FIFUR) said that fur farming in Finland is strictly controlled by law and there has been a fur farm certification system in place since 2005, including the EU-wide WelFur quality program which guides farm operations.

However, the spokesperson added that not all fur farms in Finland belong to FIFUR and it has no control over those who are not members.

Commenting on the photos and video, he said: `It seems that secret filming took place during whelping season. Intruders cause stress to the animals and stressed animals may even kill their pups.’

FIFUR veterinarian Johanna Korpela added: `Early summer is a delicate time at the farms as mink and fox pups are born. Dams should be left alone to take care of the pups without any distractions. Intruders cause stress to the animals and stressed animals may even kill their pups.’

The spokesman added: `Where there are 10,000-20,000 animals at the farm, it is possible that some animals get sick or a pup dies between checkup rounds.

`Intruders search for sick animals at night and disturb all animals while searching. Secret filming does not show the real situation at the farms.’

`Sick animals are treated or put down, if the treatment does not work.’

The UK outlawed the practice in 2000 but continued to import coats from foxes, rabbits, mink, coyotes, raccoon dogs and chinchillas.

Moving to stop this trade would make it the first country to do so, after regional authorities in West Hollywood, Berkley and San Francisco banned it.

After the investigation last year Claire locked herself in a cage for 24 hours outside the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in London.

As a member of the European Union, the country is subject to European welfare codes on how to keep animals for this industry.

Mink are the most popular animals to keep on fur farms, followed by the blue and silver fox.

The trade bloc also bans the import and export of cat and dog fur.