The amendment to end indescribable cruelty and suffering was signed on Wednesday and will come into effect in six months time, Environmental Protection Minister Gila Gamliel (pictured) said.
“Now the whole world knows we made history today, fur is no longer in fashion,” she tweeted.
However, the new law appears to be largely symbolic.
The authority to issue permits for the import and export of wild animal fur lies with the director of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority.
The amendment to 1976 regulations passed within the framework of the Wildlife Protection Law, which Gamliel signed Wednesday, limits the INPA director’s room for maneuver but allows him to continue issuing permits if the pelts are to be used for “religion, religious tradition, scientific research, education or teaching.”
This loophole exempts ultra-Orthodox Jews, who often wear cake-shaped sable hats known as shtreimels on Shabbat and holidays, although importers will now need to apply for special permits.
“Today we made history! Furs are no longer in fashion,” Gamliel tweets.
IT S OFFICIAL: Israel has become the first country in the world to ban the sale of fur!
This historic victory will protect countless foxes, minks, rabbits, and other animals from being violently killed for their skin. https://t.co/S9T5I5jfIPpic.twitter.com/K6HBWq4NSC
The move, however, is largely symbolic. Israel’s ban on the fur trade provides an exemption for religious reasons, allowing for the continued import of the cake-shaped sable hats known as shtreimels that are worn by ultra-Orthodox Jews on Shabbat and holidays.