Foxes kept in cages and bred for their fur are being left with deformed paws and medical problems that are going untreated, an animal rights charity has claimed.

Footage of the conditions arctic foxes have been subjected to on a fur farm in Poland has been published by the group, which alleges the animals are subjected to harsh living conditions.

The video, which was created by activists from Animal Defenders International (ADI) hiding on a Polish fur farm, documents the life-span of two arctic foxes.

The foxes, named as Borys and Eryk for the purposes of the video, are seen alongside their sister, Aleska, as young pups growing up in cages. They are later separated from their mother, and at the age of seven months, Borys and Eryk are seen being dragged from their cages and electrocuted to death.

The video, entitled Lifetime, has been released as part of ADI’s campaign to end the international fur trade, which it claims causes the death of 100 million animals a year.

The foxes seen on the farm in Poland, where fur farming is legal, allegedly had bent feet and overgrown claws, which ADI claims is the result of the animals spending their entire lives standing on floors made of wire mesh.

The organisation alleged that some animals had chewed their tails off due to suffering stress, and one animal had a weeping eye that was left unattended.

Actors Joanna Lumley and Brian Blessed have backed the campaign.

Jan Creamer, who has filmed in multiple fur farms, encouraged people in the UK to be aware of the fur trade, adding: “It is disappointing that 17 years after banning fur farms here, the country remains a hub for the import and export of fur products.”

She called on people to be “on the look-out for real fur being sold as ‘fake’”.