[news] We'd Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur

[Steve Kisby]

Media Release
For Immediate Release

We'd Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur

VANCOUVER -- November 8, 2003 -- Local activist groups Vegan Voices and Artists Against War/Artists For Peace today calls on the Hudson's Bay Company ("The Bay") to stop selling clothing made with fur and have launched a campaign asking people put pressure on The Bay to stop selling clothing made with fur.

Supporters of Vegan Voices and Artists Against War/Artists For Peace gathered in front of The Bay in downtown Vancouver, some completely nude, chanting "We'd rather go naked than wear fur" and holding signs bearing messages such as "We bare our skin to save the animal's skin". The event and campaign launch took place on the corner of Georgia & Granville between 1:00 and 2:00 p.m. Saturday, November 8.

The event and campaign is to increase public awareness about the unnecessary cruelty in using animal fur for fashion. Fur is an unnecessary, cruel, and inhumane fashion accessory and there are many synthetic materials that are warmer, lighter, and can be just as fashionable. A fact sheet, "Commonly Asked Questions About Fur", is being distributed as part of the campaign (copy attached).
 
"We want The Bay to stop selling fur in its stores," said Megan Babb, media spokesperson for the event. "We are opposed to the unnecessary use of animal fur for the purpose of fashion. We encourage people to join in the boycott of The Bay until they stop selling fur," said Babb.

According to Statistics Canada (CANSIM, table 003-0013 and Catalogue no 23-603-UPE) "2 million animals in Canada and 40 million world wide are cruelly killed for fur each year."

The signs that protesters were holding during the event said: "We'd rather go naked than wear fur", "Fur is dead animals", "Killing for fashion is wrong", "Dead animals are not clothing", "Fur is dead skin", "Fur: no skin off your back", "Cruelty is never in fashion", and "Compassion is always in fashion". The flyer being handed out reads "Tell The Bay To Stop Selling Fur! Call: 604-681-6211. Two million fur-bearing animals are brutally murdered every year in Canada for their fur. As a consumer, you have the power to make the killing stop. Call The Bay at 604-681-6211 and tell them to stop selling fur!".

- 30 -

For more information:

Vegan Voices:
Johnathan Skinner, 604-642-0384, jskinner at beyondvirtual.com
http://www.veganvoices.org

Artists Against War/Artists For Peace:
Conrad Schmidt  604-215-9395, 604-537-2044 (cell), ninemonkeys at blaze.ca
http://www.artistsforpeace.ca

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Commonly Asked Questions About Fur

Q: What's wrong with fur?
A: What if you were killed for your skin?  Fur is an unnecessary, cruel and inhumane fashion accessory.  There are many synthetic materials that are warmer and lighter.  The people who climb mount Everest and face the freezing temperatures up there wear synthetic materials -- not fur.

Q: Don't they make humane traps?
A: Since when has stealing an animal away from it's family, killing it, and tearing off it's skin been humane?  The people who trap animals for fur are in it for the money... and so they will do this in the cheapest way possible.  That means steel-jawed leg-hold traps, body grip traps and snares.  All of these are very painful, crushing the legs and bodies of it's victims.  An animal can be trapped there for days before the trapper returns to kill and collect them.

Q: Isn't trapping necessary for wildlife population control?
A: Wildlife population has maintained itself just fine for the millions of years before humans invented trapping.  And it would continue to do so without humans interfering.

Q: Are fur farms more humane than trapping?
A: No.  Fur farmers often in-breed animals in order to get specific colours of fur... this leads to horrible deformations, deafness and disease... but as long as the fur's okay, the farmer doesn't care.  These animals are kept in tiny little wire mesh cages that have barely enough room to move around.  They live their entire lives trapped there with no veterinary care and are constantly exposed to frigid outdoor temperatures... why?  Because the fur grows longer in the cold.  Just imagine how you would feel if you were trapped there, for your entire life in a cage not much bigger than yourself... just so someone can make a profit by killing you and tearing off your skin.

Q: How many animals are killed for fur?
A: According to Statistics Canada, over one million animals are farmed for their fur, and another million are trapped each year.  This is in Canada alone... worldwide over 40 million animals are tortured and killed ruthlessly for their coats.

Q: I don't know anyone who wears a fur coat... how can this number be so high?
A: Fur isn't only used for full coats.  90% of foxes raised on fur farms are killed for fur trim, for things like collars and cuffs on jackets.  These trimmings offer no additional warmth to the clothing at all, they are just there for "the look".  Even kid's jewelry is often made with real fur that has been trimmed or dyed different colours.  Synthetic materials can be used instead to achieve the same look -- without the cruelty.

Q: Isn't fake fur more harmful to the environment?
A: Turning animals into coats is far worse environmentally than producing synthetic fur.  An energy consumption study by the Ford Motor Company found that it takes 66 times more energy to raise and kill animals for their fur than it does to create synthetics.
[ More specific details about this study: A synthetic fur coat was found to require 120,300 BTU (British Thermal Units), which is approximately equal to the amount of useful energy in one gallon of gasoline (128,000 BTU). A coat made from trapped animals required 433,000 BTU, and a coat made from cage-raised animals required a staggering 7,965,800 BTU-66 times more energy than what is needed for a fake fur. Unlike most comparisons of real and synthetic fur products, this study took into consideration the feed required for cage-raised animals and the transportation, skinning, scraping, drying, and dyeing of pelts. ]

Q: How is raising or trapping animals for fur different than raising or hunting animals for food?
A: There is a major difference.  We recognize that meat consumption is considered by some to be necessary to human survival.  However, there is no justification for the commercial killing of animals for their pelts.  The advent of synthetic fabrics that are warmer and lighter than fur has eliminated the need for fur garments.  To condone the killing of animals for the sake of fashion cheapens life, including our own.

Q: They can't just raise the animal for it's fur... don't they use the rest of it?
A: When was the last time you ate fox meat for dinner?  How about mink?  Probably never.  The bodies are simply disposed of... it's just unwanted waste to the fur industry.  Some fur farms grind them up and feed them back to the animals... and we all know that's how Mad Cow disease got started.

Q: What about leather?
A: Information about leather can be found at the following web site:
	http://www.cowsarecool.com

Q: I want to see the fur trade stopped.  What should I do?
A: As a consumer you have a lot of power.  If everyone stops buying fur, then stores will stop selling it, and fur farms and trapping will be a thing of the past.  So don't buy clothing made of fur, or lined or trimmed with fur (be sure to check the tags).  Don't buy fur toys or decorations.  Encourage your friends and families to do the same.  Together, we can make a difference.

References:
- Ford Motor Company, Scientific Research Laboratory
- Statistics Canada, CANSIM, table 003-0013 and Catalogue no 23-603-UPE
	http://www.statcan.ca/english/Pgdb/prim46.htm
- PETA - People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
	http://www.peta.com	- HSUS - The Humane Society of the United States
	http://www.hsus.org
- Coalition To Abolish The Fur Trade
	http://www.banfur.com
- The Fur-Bearers Association
	http://www.banlegholdtraps.com