A Fur-Free Culture

Along with colorful leaves and crisp apples, fall brings an increase in the amount of animal fur worn and sold—and untold suffering to furbearing animals, 40 million of whom are slaughtered each year for nothing more than vanity. The aim of The HSUS’s new Fur-Free Campaign is to create a culture for compassionate clothing, from the top executives in the fashion industry to the single shopper at the local retail store.

Starting at the top, the campaign is raising cruelty-free consciousness in the fashion industry and networking with opinion makers. During New York's Olympus Fashion Week in September, campaign members talked to the fashion world's power brokers to open their eyes about the cruelty stitched into every fur fabric, including fur trim. You can read about their efforts in the Fashion Week 2005 Fur Blog.

With an eye on the future, the campaign has launched a new design contest called "Cool vs. Cruel," which challenges fashion design students to create cruelty-free versions of outfits designed with fur. The winner of the contest, to be announced December 19, will receive a publicity boost and an expense-paid internship with a pair of famous designers, Marc Bouwer and Atom Gaelyn, in New York City.

The campaign's "Coats for Cubs" program is spreading the message of compassion to even younger people. In cities around the country this fall,

What You Can Do

» Sign the Fur-Free Pledge not to buy or wear fur.

 

Girl Scouts and animal advocates will gather used fur and fur-trimmed garments and send them to wildlife rehabilitators, who use the fur to provide warmth and comfort to orphaned wildlife. Traditionally, the day after Thanksgiving is the start of the holiday shopping season, but to the Fur-Free Campaign it's "Fur-Free Friday," when we have a special collection drive and ask shoppers not to buy fur or fur trim.

Finally, there's the grassroots element—in this case, the consumers, who are the foundation upon which the Fur-Free Campaign is built. Besides posting our fall fashion guide, the campaign is running ads in People magazine with the message that the animals need their fur more than we do. In conjunction with that advertising campaign, we invited people to take the Fur-Free pledge not to buy or wear fur. Please join the more than 53,000 people who have already signed the pledge, and ask your friends to join you.

Do the Right Thing
Even though the National Marine Fisheries Service recognizes that continued ship strikes could push the critically imperiled North Atlantic right whale population to extinction, the agency refused to issue emergency measures to deal with the problem. The HSUS is taking them to court.

Man's Best Friend, Betrayed
How did the much-maligned and misunderstood American pit bull terrier become Public Enemy No. 1? Off the Chain, a new DVD by director Bobby J. Brown, unflinchingly examines the subculture of underground dog fighting to find the answer. Order your copy of this ground-breaking exposé.

Keep Wildlife in the Wild
The Kenyan government is considering a proposal to send 300 wild animals to a safari park in Thailand. This is a huge step backward for the country's wildlife conservation efforts, and would condemn these animals to a life in captivity. Urge Kenya to keep its animals wild.

Recent Victories

» Trader Joe's agreed to purchase only cage-free eggs for the company's house brand eggs.

 

  

Humane Heroes

If local news programs can have "Heroes of the Week" segments, so can HumaneLines. This week, I want to honor several animal heroes who are making news and making the world more humane.

Trader Joe's Chairman and CEO Dan Bane announced that the company would purchase only cage-free eggs for the Trader Joe's brand of eggs, which are sold in more than 200 stores nationwide. The result is that an estimated 380,000 laying hens—who provide the more than 100 million Trader Joe's brand eggs sold each year—will be spared lives of suffering in tiny battery cages. In announcing the decision, Bane said, "We expect this change will help further boost the proportion of sales of cage-free eggs at Trader Joe's." Read more about this egg-citing victory for hens.

National Public Radio and Sports Illustrated commentator Frank Deford told listeners in a piece titled "Cruel Retirement for Racehorses" that countless thoroughbreds are sent to slaughterhouses in the United States and their meat shipped to foreign markets for human consumption. Deford, a racing enthusiast, chided Rep. Henry Bonilla (R-TX) who tried unsuccessfully to jettison a recent amendment to stop horse slaughter for the next year, and called on lawmakers to support a permanent ban by passing the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act sponsored by Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) and Rep. John Sweeney (R-NY). Listen to Deford's moving commentary.

Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), in a statement on the House floor, called for policies that will reduce the risk of a bird flu pandemic. In particular, Blumenauer asked Congress to pass the Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act, which passed the Senate unanimously in April, but has been held up in the House Judiciary Committee. Blumenauer stated, "It is unconscionable that we would wait on enacting this felony provision. The House needs to act immediately to strengthen the law to diminish the risk of fighting birds as vectors for avian influenza." Read Rep. Blumenauer's statement.

We salute three heroes for standing up for animals. And salute you for being a hero for the animals every time you take action.

Sincerely,
Mike Markarian,
President
Humane Society
Legislative Fund