HSI UK
In a landmark debate at the Parliament earlier this week, MPs of all political parties passionately spoke out in favor of banning fur imports into the United Kingdom, with an overwhelming amount calling the fur trade “vile,” “loathsome” and the “grimmest of human activities” among other equally fitting terms.
The debate was held in response to the submission of a 425,834-strong petition delivered to No.10 Downing Street by the activist Brian May on behalf of the #FurFreeBritain coalition led by Humane Society International UK.
#FurFreeBritain
The #FurFreeBritain campaign calls on the government to make the UK a fur-free zone by extending existing cat, dog and seal fur bans to cover all fur-bearing species.
Although DEFRA Minister George Eustice MP failed to commit to government action, he acknowledged that there is nothing in World Trade Organization rules that preclude the UK from banning items on ethical grounds and that there is case law for us to advance such measures.
“It’s immensely disappointing and frustrating that the government made no solid commitment towards a fur import ban. The U.K. banned fur farming as inhumane, so it is illogical to suggest we should now try to help fur farmers overseas make their businesses slightly less awful for the animals that are subjected to this cruel trade,” Humane Society International UK Executive Director Claire Bass said in a statement. “MPs at the debate were united in their position that fur farming cannot be made humane and that Prime Minister Theresa May’s ambition to be a ‘world leader in animal welfare’ will never be realized if we ban cruel practices here but continue to outsource that same cruelty overseas.”
Designer and staunch animal welfare advocate Stella McCartney, who has never used fur or leather in her collections and does not believe that animals should die for the sake of fashion, echoed the sentiment in an open letter she posted on her website, claiming that the current situation “is hypocritical and unacceptable.”
#FurFreeBritain
“Fur has no place in any compassionate society and today its use is unnecessary and inexcusable. Plainly, fur is immoral, cruel and barbaric. Whether the animal lived on a fur farm or was trapped in the wild, each fur coat, trinket, and trim is the result of tremendous animal suffering and a life cruelly taken away,” stated McCartney who applauded the many other designers who have decided to go fur-free. “Fur is not a by-product; it is an industry that capitalizes on death, slaughtering more than 100 million animals per year.”
Gucci, Versace, Michael Kors, Donna Karan and Jimmy Choo are among designers who recently joined others with long-standing fur bans, such as Hugo Boss, Armani, Tommy Hilfiger, and Vivienne Westwood.
On the morning of the debate, Humane Society International UK, Open Cages and more than 100 #FurFreeBritain campaigners gathered outside Westminster holding signs showing the grim conditions on fur farms across 15 countries such as France, Poland, and China that import fur into the UK.
It’s time for the government to listen to the public and their representatives in parliament, and ban the despicable fur trade. After all, it’s the public that the government should supposedly be serving.
The Humane Society International and #FurFreeBritain list numerous ways people can help HERE!
People are also encouraged to email Theresa May HERE!
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