Fur trade collapse: How COVID-19 shattered the industry

Berlin’s Fellwechsel GmbH collapses as pandemic cripples the fur trade

The fur trade has taken a heavy hit from the COVID-19 pandemic, with companies across Europe struggling to survive. One of the latest casualties is Fellwechsel GmbH, a Berlin-based fur trading firm that has now suspended operations indefinitely. The crisis has also exposed deeper divisions over the ethics and sustainability of the industry itself.

The first signs of trouble appeared in late February 2020 at the MilanoOne fur trade fair. Attendance plummeted, and Chinese buyers—key players in the market—were noticeably absent. As lockdowns spread, major auction houses like SagaFur and KopenhagenFur moved sales online. Yet even this shift failed to revive demand, with some auctions recording zero percent sales.

Fellwechsel GmbH, which processes over 30,000 pelts annually through partnerships with tanneries and hunters, soon faced its own collapse. The company placed its stock of frozen pelts into storage as prices crashed. One of its partner tanneries filed for bankruptcy, unable to weather the downturn. In a bid to cut losses, Fellwechsel even asked hobby hunters to waive their credits for pelts delivered. The pandemic has also reignited criticism of the fur trade’s practices. Animal rights groups dismissed the company’s claims of ‘eco-fur’ from wild-caught foxes and martens, arguing that it still relies on killing animals. Meanwhile, ecologists have long warned that hunting these species disrupts ecosystems and may worsen the spread of wildlife diseases. The full scale of losses for designers, traders, and furriers remains unclear, but the industry’s future looks increasingly uncertain.

Fellwechsel GmbH’s shutdown marks another blow to a sector already under pressure. With storage facilities filled with unsold pelts and key buyers gone, recovery seems distant. The crisis has also sharpened debates over whether hunting for fur can ever be justified—ecologically or ethically.