Volume
4, Issue
2 -
May
2004
Boycott
Stores
That
Sell
Fur
Products
by Internet
Author
Unknown
Sure, you’d probably never dream of wearing a coat made of forty minks or a tacky coyote collar on your jacket. But could that trim on your cardigan, the tassles on your hat, even your cat’s toy mouse be made of—yikes!—the Easter bunny? Yes, it’s high time to lose ALL the fur!
People who live with rabbit companions in their homes know that they are sensitive, smart animals with individual personalities, just like the dogs and cats so many of us consider a part of the family. They make lifelong bonds with other rabbits and humans, they play with toys, and they can even learn to use litterboxes.
But
the
hundreds
of millions
of rabbits
slaughtered
for
their
fur
and
their
flesh
every
year
aren’t
so lucky.
Like
other
animals
“farmed”
for
their
fur,
rabbits—who
are
extremely
clean
by nature—are
kept
in tiny,
filthy
cages,
surrounded
by their
own
waste.
They
spend
their
entire
miserable
lives
standing
on the
thin
cage
wires,
never
having
a chance
to dig,
jump,
or play.
The
methods
of slaughter
are
no more
humane—they
are
killed
by having
their
necks
snapped
or having
their
skulls
beaten
before
being
strung
up by
the
legs
and
having
their
heads
cut
off.
Some
stores
justify
the
selling
of rabbit
fur
by saying
that
it is
“just
a byproduct”
of the
rabbit-meat
industry.
But
the
rabbit
fur
industry
demands
the
pelt
of a
thicker,
older
animal
than
those
slaughtered
for
meat.
In fact,
the
UN reports
that
“few
skins
are
now
retrieved
from
slaughterhouses,”
and
countries
such
as France
are
killing
as many
as seventy
million
rabbits
a year
for
fur.
What’s more, there is a thriving, hideously cruel dog- and cat-fur industry in Asia, much of which is often falsely labeled as “rabbit fur” before export to Western markets. Without expensive DNA tests, it is virtually impossible to know exactly what kind of animal you are actually wearing if you choose to buy fur.
Angora rabbits, who are repeatedly shorn for their soft wool, don’t have it much better. They are strapped to a board for shearing, kicking powerfully in protest. The clippers inevitably bite into their flesh, with bloody results. Angoras have very delicate foot pads, making life on a wire cage floor excruciating and ulcerated feet a common condition. Because male angoras have only 80 percent of the wool yield of females, they are routinely killed at birth.
With so many high-quality alternatives to both rabbit fur and angora, compassionate consumers and animal-friendly fashionistas are sparing bunnies and shunning their skins by instead choosing soft acrylics, brushed cotton, and faux fur. Sexy Australian model Imogen Bailey and NYPD Blue babe Charlotte Ross have posed naked in sexy PETA ads to exclaim, “Hands off the Buns!” Order PETA’s free “Guide to Compassionate Clothing” for bunny-friendly shopping tips.
Please also contact these businesses that currently sell rabbit fur trim and garments and urge them to stop supporting this violent industry:
Forever 21, Inc.
Don Chang, CEO
2001 S. Alameda St.
Los Angeles, CA 90058
Phone: 213-747-2121
Fax: 213-741-5161
Email: customerservices@forever21.comBebe Stores, Inc.
Greg Scott, CEO
400 Valley Dr.
Brisbane, CA 94005
Phone: 415-715-3900
Fax: 415-715-3939
Email: askus@bebe.com
