The bill received unanimous support in Bulgaria’s Parliament at its second and final reading. Across Europe, 24 countries have already introduced legal bans on fur production.
Sofia, Bulgaria, 13 November 2026 — Bulgaria’s Parliament, the National Assembly, has unanimously passed a bill banning fur farming at its second and final reading. The legislation received support from all parties represented in Parliament, with 173 votes in favour, none against and no abstentions. The next steps are a presidential decree promulgating the law and its publication in Bulgaria’s official State Gazette.
The ban enjoys broad public support. The reasons behind it include the cruel conditions in which animals are kept and killed for their fur, public health risks associated with zoonotic diseases transmitted between animals and humans, threats to biodiversity, and negative impacts on local communities.
The legislative changes will prevent fur farming from resuming in Bulgaria. The country’s last registered American mink farm, located near the village of Madzherito in the Stara Zagora region of southern Bulgaria, ceased operations in early 2025. The amendments to the Veterinary Medical Activities Act will also prohibit the farming of other animals, including foxes, chinchillas and raccoon dogs, for their fur.
Across Europe, 24 countries have already adopted legislation prohibiting fur farming or introduced stricter requirements that effectively bring the practice to an end.
“The bill banning fur farms is a major victory for animals. At CAAI, we have spent more than 10 years campaigning to ensure that animals can no longer be skinned solely for their fur. We are pleased that the voices of the citizens and civil society organisations supporting this bill have been heard and have received the full political backing of representatives from every parliamentary group,” said Petya Altimirska of CAAI, a Bulgarian animal advocacy organisation.
“The fact is that this is the first bill in the current Parliament to have been backed by the signatures of all political parties. This is no coincidence, because work on the bill began years before the current Parliament,” said Anton Kutev, a member of Bulgaria’s Parliament and a sponsor of the bill.
“I am extremely grateful to everyone involved in this issue. Above all, to the non-governmental organisations whose energy and consistent, well-reasoned efforts have brought us to this final action,” Kutev added.
At EU level, a decision by the European Commission on the European Citizens’ Initiative “Fur Free Europe” is still pending. Bulgaria also supports the initiative’s calls for an EU-wide ban on fur farming and on imports of fur products from countries outside the EU.
Media enquiries and interviews
CAAI — Campaigns and Activism for Animals in Industry
+359 895 760 754
Petya Altimirska, Chair of CAAI
About CAAI
CAAI launched Bulgaria’s national citizens’ initiative to ban fur production, which collected more than 51,000 signatures. The organisation is also one of the organisers for signature collection of the European Citizens’ Initiative “Fur Free Europe”, which collected more than 1.5 million signatures from EU citizens, including over 70,000 from Bulgaria.
CAAI is a member of Eurogroup for Animals and the Fur Free Alliance.
