Tag: Versace

Humane Society International welcomes move but urges the company to commit to a ‘cleaner and clearer’ no fur policy

Humane Society International / Global

Nathan Hobbs/iStock.com

WASHINGTON—Canada Goose has announced in a new report that from 2022 it will no longer buy fur from trappers and instead will use reclaimed fur in its products. Animal protection organisation Humane Society International welcomes the announcement as ‘another nail in the coffin for the fur trade’ but hopes for a ‘cleaner and clearer’ no-fur policy from the company in the near future.

PJ Smith, director of fashion policy at the Humane Society of the United States, said, “While we congratulate Canada Goose for taking this step, and are happy to see yet another nail in the coffin for the fur trade, switching to ‘reclaimed fur’ feels like an unnecessarily long-goodbye for this company’s outdated relationship with fur; ultimately their future must be fur-free. We urge Canada Goose to make a cleaner and clearer commitment to sustainability by switching to bio-fake-furs, and closed-loop recycling of faux fur materials. We hope in the near future to see Canada Goose following the vast majority of top designers in cutting all ties with cruel and outdated fur.”

Rebecca Aldworth, executive director of Humane Society International/Canada, said, “Fur trapping results in prolonged animal suffering, amputation and death for target and non-target wild and companion animals. Notably, the traps used throughout North America are banned in many other countries for animal welfare reasons. Canada Goose’s announcement that it will shift from new to reclaimed coyote fur is a partial victory for animals. However, significant clarification is required about the company’s definition of ‘reclaimed fur,’ its certification methods and its timeline for implementation. Consumers must carefully scrutinize the implementation of this new policy but ultimately we urge Canada Goose to stop using animal fur entirely in favour of humane and environmentally friendly alternatives.”

Canada Goose is infamous for selling garments trimmed with coyote fur from animals caught in cruel leg-hold traps. The company’s continued use of fur has led to global criticism and protests from leading animal groups over the last decade.

Wild animals such as coyotes and wolves who are trapped for their fur, can languish in agony in cruel traps for hours or even days before dying from dehydration, starvation, attacks by predators or being killed when the trapper returns. Animals on fur farms fare no better; in addition to the physical and psychological torment of being confined in small, barren cages for their entire lives, the killing methods typically used on fur farms are equally distressing. Mink are killed by gassing, and fox and raccoon dogs are killed by electrocution.

Humane Society International and the Humane Society of the United States have long fought the global fur trade, eliminating the demand for fur products around the world by working closely with top designers and retailers to go fur-free and banning fur sales in cities and states. In the UK, HSI leads the #FurFreeBritain campaign to ban fur sales countrywide.

Since the beginning of 2017 alone Burberry, Versace, Gucci, Chanel, Coach, Donna Karan, Prada, Miu Miu, Church’s, Michael Kors/Jimmy Choo, Diane von Furstenberg, Columbia Sportswear, Farfetch, Yoox Net-a-Porter, Burlington, VF Corporation (Timberland/The North Face) Furla and Bottega Veneta, have all stopped using fur in their collections.

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Media contact: Wendy Higgins, whiggins@hsi.org

Pete urges fans to ditch fur, calls for UK fur sales ban after witnessing dead animals, tiny fox cubs and horrifically injured mink suffering on fur farms

Humane Society International / United Kingdom

LONDON–A new undercover investigation by TV’s Pete Wicks and animal charity Humane Society International/UK reveals deplorable conditions and distressing animal suffering on fur farms in Finland, a country that exports millions of pounds worth of fur to the UK. The investigation by HSI/UK in partnership with Finnish animal protection organisation Oikeutta Eläimille found tiny fox cubs struggling to walk across wire mesh cage floors, dead mink and foxes, and animals suffering from untreated wounds including a live mink whose head was partially cannibalised by cage mates. 

Pete Wicks recorded an emotionally-charged video for his fans showing footage from the farm. Pete told fans that fur farms are “far worse than I ever imagined,” and called the fur trade “cruel and disgusting.” Pete asked his followers not to buy fur, and shared HSI’s petition calling on the British government to ban fur sales in the UK.

Pete’s video and additional footage and images from from the investigation can be seen here.

If you are interested in interviewing Pete please contact Harriet Barclay, HBarclay@hsi.org 

The UK banned fur farming in 2000 on ethical grounds, but since then has allowed imports of more than £820 million worth of fur from overseas, including Finland. Since the ban the UK imported more than £14 million worth of fur from Finland, and HM Revenue and Customs figures also show sizeable imports from a range of other countries such as Italy, France, Poland, China and Russia. In 2019 so far fur imports to the UK total £25.7million, including over £2.5million from China alone. Finland is by far the biggest ‘producer’ of fox fur in Europe, rearing and electrocuting around 2.5 million foxes every year for the global fur trade; only China farms more foxes globally.

The fur trade claims that the majority of fur farms in Finland are so-called ‘high welfare’, so HSI campaigners took celebrity supporter Pete Wicks to Finland to see for themselves. They found distressing animal suffering across all 13 of the fur farms visited between April and October 2019, with Pete accompanying them to two of those farms.

Pete Wicks said “Despite having seen lots of fur farm footage, nothing could have prepared me for the suffering I saw when I investigated fur farms in Finland with HSI/UK. It was sickening, I really don’t believe that anyone who has seen the state of these poor animals – terrified and trapped in tiny cages – would ever wear fur again. It is great that the UK banned fur farming, but it doesn’t make sense that we’re still selling fur from farms like the ones I visited in Finland.  So I hope this new footage will help HSI/UK’s #FurFreeBritain campaign persuade politicians that fur cruelty should be banned from UK shop shelves.”

Finland is by far the biggest ‘producer’ of fox fur in Europe, rearing and electrocuting around 2.5 million foxes every year for the global fur trade; only China farms more foxes globally. UK fur imports are a double standard that HSI/UK through its #FurFreeBritain campaign is urging the government to address by introducing a ban on UK fur sales.

Claire Bass, executive director of Humane Society International/UK, who investigated the fur farms, said: “We saw a few hundred of the millions of foxes and mink trapped in miles of battery cages in Finland. These poor young animals exist only as vessels for their fur, as broken and tormented souls. We saw weeping eye infections, infected wounds, dead cubs and cannibalism; all of this suffering to provide a frivolous product that the fashion industry does not need. It’s important for consumers, designers and politicians to see that awful reality laid bare, that despite what the fur trade tries to portray on catwalks there is nothing glamorous about fur. As long as the UK allows British businesses to trade in fur, we are complicit in the cruelty. Britain was the first country in the world to ban fur farming, now it’s time for us  to finish the job and become the first country in the world to ban fur sales too.”  

Kristo Muurimaa of Finnish animal protection organisation Oikeutta Elaimille, who accompanied HSI/UK on the fur farm visits, and visited additional Finnish farms, said: “During my work as an investigator, I have visited almost a hundred fur farms in Finland and other countries. Sadly, the appalling things we witnessed on the investigation with HSI/UK are far from the exception. Small, barren cages and suffering of the animals are the norm in the fur industry.”

HSI’s petition calling for the UK government to ban UK fur sales can be signed here: www.hsi.org/FurFreeBritain

Fur facts:

  • In 2016 the value of fur imported into the UK was £55.6 million. A provisional estimate of the number of animal skins that equates to in that year is approximately 2,000,000.
  • Britain imports and sells the fur of a variety of species, including fox, rabbit, mink, coyote, raccoon dog and chinchilla. Fur imports from dogs, cats and commercial seal hunts are banned across the EU, and HSI wants those existing bans extended to protect all fur-bearing species.
  • Britain imports and sells the fur of a variety of species, including fox, rabbit, mink, coyote, raccoon dog and chinchilla. Fur imports from dogs, cats and commercial seal hunts are banned across the EU, and HSI wants those existing bans extended to protect all fur-bearing species.
  • Since the United Kingdom banned fur farming on ethical grounds in 2000, more than a dozen countries in Europe, including Austria, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Norway, have legislated against the practice. The government in Ireland agreed, in June this year, to phase out fur farming and draft legislation to end the practice has also been presented to the parliaments of both Bulgaria and Slovakia this autumn. Several cities in the United States, including San Francisco, West Hollywood and Los Angeles have all introduced fur sales bans and a bill to outlaw the sale and manufacture of new fur products across the state of California was passed last week.
  • In addition to the physical and psychological torment of being confined in small, barren cages for the animals’ entire lives, the killing methods typically used on fur farms are equally distressing. Mink are killed by gassing, and fox and raccoon dogs are killed by anal electrocution.
  • An increasing number of fashion designers and retailers are dropping fur cruelty. In the last two years alone Prada, Gucci, Versace, Michael Kors, Jimmy Choo, DKNY, Burberry, Chanel and other high-profile brands have announced fur-free policies. In addition, online fashion retail platforms Net-A-Porter and Farfetch have introduced no-fur policies.

Media contact:

HSI UK: Harriet Barclay, HBarclay@hsi.org, office: 02039767962, mobile: 07794354596

 

British Government under increasing pressure from #FurFreeBritain campaign to end UK fur sales after California’s historic ban

Humane Society International / United States

Jillian Cooper/iStock.com Wild mink

LONDON—California has made history today by becoming the first U.S. State to ban the sale of animal fur. Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 44 into law, banning all new fur sales and manufacturing in California. The law, which comes into effect in January 2023, has been welcomed by Humane Society International which hopes it will inspire fur sales bans around the world. In the United Kingdom, Humane Society International’s #FurFreeBritain campaign is urging the UK to follow in California’s footsteps by becoming the first country in the world to ban the sale of animal fur.

The United Kingdom, which was the first country in the world to ban fur farming on ethical grounds back in 2000, still allows imports of animal fur from other countries such as Finland, Poland and China.

Claire Bass, Executive Director of Humane Society International/UK, says, “California has made history by becoming the first U.S state to ban the sale of animal fur, signifying the growing distaste for fur products by consumers who want to see compassion in fashion. It is deeply immoral for animals to suffer miserable lives and painful deaths just to end up as a bobble hat or coat trim, and this ban sends a powerful message to the fur trade that its business model is unethical and its days are numbered. Now is the time for the UK to join the trailblazing to shut down markets for this cruel and outdated industry. We banned fur farming here two decades ago for being inhumane, but now we allow tens of millions of pounds of fur to be imported; by effectively outsourcing cruelty we’ve only done half the job. Our #FurFreeBritain campaign is calling on the British government to follow in California’s footsteps, and make the UK the first country in the world to ban the sale of animal fur.”

California’s bill was introduced by Assemblymember Laura Friedman last December and sponsored by HSI/UK’s sister organisation the Humane Society of the United States, and Animal Hope and Wellness. It passed six committees and the full Assembly and Senate with overwhelming support. It had many notable supporters among the fashion industry, including InStyle magazine, Stella McCartney, Diane von Furstenberg, 3.1 Phillip Lim, HUGO BOSS, Patagonia, H&M, GAP, J.Crew, Madewell, Des Kohan, Hiraeth and Inditex/Zara.

California’s ban increases the pressure on the UK government to ban the sale of animal fur in Britain. The #FurFreeBritain campaign, launched by HSI/UK, argues that if fur is too cruel to produce in Britain, it is too cruel to sell in Britain. The campaign, backed by celebrities such as Dame Judi Dench, Paloma Faith, Ricky Gervais and Thandie Newton, has strong cross-party political support with MPs Zac Goldsmith, John McDonnell and Jo Swinson in favour of a ban. A UK fur sales ban is also included in the Labour party’s animal welfare plan, published last month. Earlier this month Islington became the first London Borough to ban the sale of fur.

Kitty Block, president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States, says, ““The signing of AB 44 underscores the point that today’s consumers simply don’t want wild animals to suffer extreme pain and fear for the sake of fashion. More cities, states and countries are expected to follow California’s lead, and the few brands and retailers that still sell fur will no doubt take a closer look at innovative alternatives that don’t involve animal cruelty.”

Humane Society International expects more state-wide bans to follow quickly, as similar bills have been introduced in Hawaii and New York. Los Angeles, San Francisco, West Hollywood and Berkeley have already implemented fur sales bans.

Fur facts:

  • More than 100 million animals globally are reported to be killed every year for their fur. In addition to the physical and psychological torment of being confined in small, barren cages for their entire lives, the killing methods typically used on fur farms are equally distressing. Mink are killed by gassing, and fox and raccoon dogs are killed by anal electrocution.
  • An increasing number of fashion designers and retailers are dropping fur cruelty. In the last two years alone Prada, Gucci, Versace, Michael Kors, Jimmy Choo, DKNY, Burberry, Chanel and other high-profile brands have announced fur-free policies. In addition, online fashion retail platforms Net-a-porter and Farfetch have introduced no-fur policies.
  • Britain imports and sells the fur of a variety of species, including fox, rabbit, mink, coyote, raccoon dog and chinchilla. Fur imports from dogs, cats and seals killed during commercial hunts are banned across the EU, and HSI wants those existing bans extended to protect all fur-bearing species. In 2016 the value of fur imported into the UK was £55.6 million. A provisional estimate of the number of animal skins that equates to in that year is approximately 2,000,000 (1,720,000 mink, 110,000 fox, 90,000 raccoon dog and 80,000 skins from animals trapped in the wild, such as  coyote, lynx, beaver and otter).

Download fur farm photos and video here: 

China fox and raccoon dog, December 2015: https://newsroom.humanesociety.org/video/video.php?bctid=4752416793001&channel=973092892001

Fur: China rabbit fur farm, December 2015: https://newsroom.humanesociety.org/fetcher/index.php?searchMerlin=1&searchBrightcove=1&submitted=1&mw=d&q=ChinaRabbit0719

ENDS

Media contact:

United Kingdom – Wendy Higgins whiggins@hsi.org

 

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