The fur farmer Ceslovas Tallat-Kelpsa does plan to sign up. He keeps more than 200,000 mink on his farms in Lithuania. He thinks it will improve animal welfare standards and make European furs more competitive, boosting the price he is paid for his pelts.

"I believe it will increase," he says. "Buyers want to buy certificated fur."

He told me that in 2015, the price paid per pelt barely covered his production costs. He received an average of €30 (£26) for each one, when previously he had been paid about €70 (£61) on average.

'Abhorrent product'

The fur industry is keen to convince people it is doing all it can to look after the animals in its care, but its Welfur scheme does not convince everyone.

"I have come to the conclusion that it is very little more than a PR lobbying tool to try and defend the fur industry, mostly within the European Union," says Mark Glover from Respect for Animals, which campaigns against the international fur trade.

"The criteria are economic. A mink cage, for instance, will never be longer than a person's arm, for obvious reasons of catching and handling the mink.

"They are incapable of making conditions anywhere near acceptable for the animal welfare of the mink and that is where we disagree with them entirely. Fur is an abhorrent product and the sooner it is banned, the better."

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