Prohibits the trade of farmed fur products if any of the fur was sourced from an animal that was raised, maintained, kept, or housed for all or part of its life on a fur farm.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1923--A
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 14, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ROSENTHAL, GLICK, GONZALEZ-ROJAS, BORES, HEVESI,
SIMON, SIMONE, COLTON -- read once and referred to the Committee on
Economic Development -- recommitted to the Committee on Economic
Development in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee
discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
to said committee
AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to the trade of
farmed fur products
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The general business law is amended by adding a new section
2 399-bbbb to read as follows:
3 § 399-bbbb. Trade in farmed fur products prohibited. 1. The legisla-
4 ture finds and declares that eliminating the sale of farmed fur products
5 in the state of New York will decrease demand for cruel products, reduce
6 public health risks, promote community awareness of animal welfare,
7 foster a more humane environment, and enhance the reputation of the
8 state.
9 2. For purposes of this section:
10 (a) "Fur" means any animal skin or part thereof with hair, fleece, or
11 fur fibers attached thereto, either in its raw or processed state.
12 (b) "Fur product" means any article of clothing or covering for any
13 part of the body, or any fashion accessory, including but not limited to
14 handbags, shoes, slippers, hats, earmuffs, scarves, shawls, gloves,
15 jewelry, keychains, toys or trinkets, and home accessories and decor,
16 that is made in whole or part of fur. "Fur product" does not include any
17 of the following:
18 (i) An animal skin or part thereof that is to be converted into leath-
19 er, or which in processing will have the hair, fleece, or fur fiber
20 completely removed;
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05288-02-6
A. 1923--A 2
1 (ii) Animal hair, fleece, or fur fibers that are not attached to skin;
2 or
3 (iii) Fur, wool, or other fibers sourced exclusively from any member
4 of the family Bovidae, Camelidae, Equidae, Suidae, or Cervidae.
5 (c) "Fur farm" means any operation, including the land, buildings,
6 support facilities, and any other location or equipment, in which
7 animals - including but not limited to mink, fox, and raccoon dog - are
8 owned, controlled, raised, bred, propagated, or kept for the value of
9 their fur.
10 (d) "Person" means any individual, firm, partnership, joint venture,
11 association, limited liability company, corporation, estate, trust,
12 receiver, or syndicate.
13 (e) "Ultimate consumer" means an individual who buys a fur product for
14 their own use, or for the use of another, but not for resale or trade.
15 (f) "Used fur product" means a fur product that has been worn or used
16 by an ultimate consumer.
17 3. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, rule, or regulation to
18 the contrary, beginning twenty-four months after this section takes
19 effect, it shall be unlawful for any person to sell, offer for sale,
20 display for sale, trade, or otherwise distribute for monetary or nonmon-
21 etary consideration, a fur product in the state of New York if any of
22 the fur contained in the fur product was sourced from an animal that was
23 raised, maintained, kept, or housed for all or part of its life on a fur
24 farm. For purposes of this section, the sale of a fur product shall be
25 deemed to occur in New York if:
26 (a) The buyer takes physical possession of the fur product in New
27 York; or
28 (b) The seller is located in New York.
29 4. This section does not apply to the sale, offer for sale, display
30 for sale, trade, or distribution of:
31 (a) A used fur product;
32 (b) Fishing lures and fur pieces or parts intended to make fishing
33 lures;
34 (c) A fur product required for use in the practice of a religion;
35 (d) A fur product used for traditional tribal, cultural, or spiritual
36 purposes by a member of a federally recognized or state recognized
37 Native American tribe; or
38 (e) A fur product where the activity is expressly authorized by feder-
39 al law.
40 5. (a) The attorney general shall enforce this section. The attorney
41 general may also seek injunctive relief to prevent further violations of
42 this section.
43 (b) Within six months after this section takes effect, the attorney
44 general shall promulgate rules and regulations for the implementation
45 and enforcement of this section.
46 (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, there is a rebuttable
47 presumption that a fur product contains fur that was sourced from an
48 animal raised, maintained, kept, or housed for all or part of its life
49 on a fur farm.
50 (d) Every seller of fur products shall maintain proper records showing
51 proof that each fur product sold, offered for sale, traded, or otherwise
52 distributed is exempt from the prohibitions of this section, and shall
53 preserve such records for a minimum of three years.
54 (e) A person who violates this section shall be liable for a civil
55 penalty of up to one thousand dollars per violation. Each fur product
A. 1923--A 3
1 that does not comply with the provisions of this section shall consti-
2 tute a separate violation.
3 § 2. Severability clause. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivi-
4 sion, section or part of this act shall be adjudged by any court of
5 competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect,
6 impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in
7 its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section
8 or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judg-
9 ment shall have been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of
10 the legislature that this act would have been enacted even if such
11 invalid provisions had not been included herein.
12 § 3. This act shall take effect one year after it shall have become a
13 law.
