PM Boris Johnson urged to ban animal fur

Category: FABRICS

Country: United Kingdom

Published: 26 February 2021
Written by Chris Remington <https://www.ecotextile.com/chris-remington.html>

LONDON – A letter signed by 50 British celebrities has been sent to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, urging that the sale of real animal fur be banned.

Actress Dame Judy Dench, Queen guitarist Brian May and comedian Ricky Gervais are amongst the group that’s pledged its allegiance to animal welfare NGO Humane Society International’s (HSI) #FurFreeBritain campaign.

The organisation’s executive director, Claire Bass, said: “This letter from some of the country’s top celebrities proudly backing a ban on fur cruelty sends a clear message to Boris Johnson that Britain must no longer be an accomplice in the suffering of millions of animals for frivolous fur fashion. When the selling stops, the suffering will too.”

Though fur farming was banned in Britain back in 2003 after being deemed too cruel, the country’s legislation on the matter has still enabled real animal fur with a value of more than £800 million (US$1.1 billion) to be imported for use by industries including fashion.

Last year, DEFRA Minister Lord Peter Goldsmith, said: “Fur farming has rightly been banned in this country for nearly 20 years and at the end of the transition period we will be able to properly consider steps to raise our standards still further. That is something the Government is very keen to do.”

Eurofins March 2021
Looking to accelerate a ban on such materials, HSI’s #FurFreeBritain campaign has garnered the support of organisations including PETA, RSPCA, Animal Aid and Four Paws. It’s an initiative that’s also garnered huge celebrity backing, which has led up to the issuing of this letter to the UK Prime Minister.

In it, the celebrities say: “As long as Britain allows the sale of cruel fur from overseas, we remain complicit in an industry that causes immense animal suffering, environmental harm, and also presents risks to human health through the spread of deadly viruses. It is not enough to say that we have banned fur cruelty from our own back yard, we must stop outsourcing that same cruelty from overseas.”

Over the past year, fur farms such as those holding mink have been identified as breeding grounds for variants of the coronavirus, which ultimately led Danish authorities to cull its entire population of the animal.

PETA director, Elisa Allen, added: “The overwhelming majority of British people oppose the fur trade, in which animals are gassed, electrocuted, and even skinned alive. We’re calling on the government to seize this opportunity to take a stand against needless cruelty and be a world leader by creating a fur-free Britain.”

Courtesy:
https://www.ecotextile.com/2021022627457/materials-production-news/pm-boris-johnson-urged-to-ban-animal-fur.html