An OA™ label gives assurance that the fur has been sourced from approved OA™ species and from approved OA™ countries.

View list of approved OA™ countries and species >

To become OA™ approved, a country must have regulations or standards governing fur production in force. Currently the standards are:

FOR FARMED FUR

In Europe, any EU country as it is bound by EU animal welfare and slaughter directives; any European country which is implementing the Council of Europe recommendation specifically concerning fur animals via national legislation or a code of practice. In addition, the same EU environmental laws that apply to all EU agricultural sectors also cover fur farming. For example, the Water Framework Directive is also linked to farming.

In the USA, fur farmers are regulated by their state department of agriculture and must operate under federal environmental standards, such as the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act. Fur farmers have also developed a comprehensive set of their own standards, in consultation with veterinarians and animal scientists, to ensure the highest quality of animal husbandry. These standards are administered by Fur Commission USA, which is also responsible for ensuring they are revised and updated whenever required by current knowledge of animal care and farm management techniques.

In Canada, codes of practice are in place, which were developed with the federal Department of Agriculture and the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies.

In Namibia, Karakul producers operate under a Code of Practice governing the Care and Handling of Karakul Sheep. The code was prepared with the assistance of the Namibian Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry and the European Union; it has been approved by the Veterinary Authority of Namibia, which is a member of the world animal health organisation (OIE) and it is implemented under the supervision of the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry.
View list of farmed fur regulations and standards >

FOR WILD FUR

Any country that has ratified and is implementing the Agreement on International Humane Trapping Standards (AIHTS) or is implementing similar standards to the AIHTS for wild fur production. These aim to ensure that only the most humane trapping methods are used and that improvement continues to be made in trapping, based on the latest available scientific research.

Seals: The main seal producing countries are Canada, Greenland and Norway, where the Seal hunt is supported by regulations, monitoring and enforcement.
View list of wild fur regulations and standards >