The Israeli Knessett is considering a Bill to prohibit the production and trade in fur. No other country has such a law. The Knessett was expected to vote on this private bill offered by Knessett Member Nitzan Horovits in September, 2010, but a vote has been delayed.
 

Fur Industry Prohibition, 5769-2009
Definitions 

1. In this law-
"Fur" - the body cover of a mammal, which was skinned from it for the purpose of producing fur products  
"Fur Products" - any item which is made, predominantly or partly, of fur, for the purpose of being worn or for any other purpose 
"Artificial Fur" - a product similar to fur in its properties or looks, yet which isn't made of fur, but of exclusively synthetic materials
"Research" - ecological, zoological or biological research only, and which is conducted by a research institution, and not for profit
"Research Institution" - a scientific, research-based, medical, educational or higher-education institution where ecological, zoological or biological research is being conducted
"The Commissioner" - as defined in the Animal Welfare Law (Protection of Animals) 5754-1994
"The Minister" - The Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor
Aims 

2. The purpose of this law is to prohibit the production of, and industry in, fur and fur products in Israel

Prohibition on fur manufacturing and trade

3.(a) No one in Israel is permitted to rear animals with the purpose of producing fur products 
(b) No one in Israel is permitted to produce fur products 
(c)  No one in Israel is permitted to trade in fur products 
(d) Should anyone trade in artificial furs - he must be in possession of a lab certificate proving it is not made of real fur 
(e)  Such certificates as mentioned in clause 3(d) will be kept for any artificial fur product line in the trader's possession

Prohibition on imports

4.  No one is permitted to import fur or fur products from foreign countries

Scientific research exception

5. (a)  The Commissioner may grant permits to trade in fur for research purposes
(b)  Any such permit will be given to a research institution, on an individual basis for a specific research project, and said permit will be valid for one year only from the day it was granted. The Commissioner will grant the individual permit only after he is convinced that the requestor keeps in his possession the minimal number of furs required for said research. Any renewals of the permit the following year will be subject these same conditions.
(c) Once the research was concluded, or once the permit allowing its continuation was revoked, the fur items will be taken for safe keeping in the State of Israel's national natural history collections

Punishment

6.(a)  Any person found in breach of the provisions of this law is liable to one-year imprisonment or to the fine prescribed in section 61(a)(2) of the Penal Law 
(b)  Any business trading in fur or fur products will be closed and its merchandise confiscated
(c) Any and all furs and fur products confiscated according to clause 6(b) above will be destroyed

Explanations
The fur industry is a cruel one, which inflicts terrible and unnecessary suffering on many mammals in order to provide luxuries aimed at only a very small section of the population. It is estimated that 75 million animals are skinned alive annually for this industry.

On fur farms around the world many animals are reared in terrible conditions, including dogs, cats, minks, foxes, rabbits, chinchillas and others. Once they reach the right size, these animals are killed for their fur. In order not to hurt the raw material, in many cases the animal is electrocuted, gassed, or even skinned alive.

Other furs come from wild animals hunted specifically for that purpose. One good example is the seal pups, half a million of which are hunted each spring (the birthing season) in countries such as Canada. Hunters catch the pups and hit them with blunt objects to render them unconscious, but over 40% are alive and conscious and in terror and agony while being skinned. On top of the cruelty involved in obtaining fur, near-extinct wild animals, as well as whole ecological systems, also suffer serious and at times irreversible damage.

Recently it was revealed that fur trimmed items sold at Israeli fashion chains as synthetic fur, actually came from dogs and rabbits reared in China and sold as synthetic fur, misleading the consumers. As much as this saddens and shocks us, it appears that obtaining cat and dog fur is less expensive than producing synthetic fur. Knowledgeable sources report that what's referred to as "mislabeling" is a common practice, where the manufacturer deliberately attaches a misleading label in order to present cat and dog fur as synthetic fur or as wild animal fur. This is done in order to prevent consumers from being shocked by wearing fur whose origins are household pets.

27 EU countries, as well as the USA and Australia, have laws prohibiting the import and export of cat and dog fur. Five countries prohibit the importing and selling of seal fur. Such a law is due to come up for discussion in the EU in April 2009.

Once Israel enacts this bill, she joins the increasing number of enlightened nations of the world in her ethics and moral position towards animals.

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For more information and how you can help pass this landmark bill, visit http://www.antifurcoalition.org/ 

Go here for information about U.S. federal and California bills to close loopholes in labeling fur.

Photo credit: WINTER FUR by Looby