Written by Heather Faraid Drennan
The biggest shopping day of the year is also the biggest fur-free day of the year—from Anchorage, Alaska to our headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, the young, the old, and even, well, dummies were out in force to urge shoppers to cross fur off their holiday lists.
Even a little bit of fur trim means a lifetime of suffering for minks, foxes, rabbits, and other animals on fur farms, who are crammed into filthy wire cages and are often genitally electrocuted to avoid damaging their pelts. Even dog and cat fur has been found in clothing exported from China to the U.S.
Be sure not to miss opportunities to educate shoppers in your area about the coldhearted fur industry: Sign up to receive important updates from PETA's Action Team about additional fur-free outreach events in order to make this a happy holiday season for one and all.
Unless you live in a sensory deprivation chamber, you probably get queasy at the mere mention of Kim Kardashian. But wait! PETA's new billboard should give the reality TV star a much-needed reality check—at least when it comes to her furry wardrobe, which often features the pelts of animals as dead as her brief marriage.
Kim © StarmaxInc | Foxes © Patricia Kullberg/ Dreamstime.com
We've contacted Kim several times about the notorious cruelty of the fur industry, in which animals on factory fur farms are kept in tiny wire cages in all weather extremes and are genitally electrocuted and even skinned alive. In fact, Kim's compassionate sister, Khloe Kardashian, posed naked for a PETA anti-fur ad and kindly showed fur-farm video footage on Keeping Up With the Kardashians. But the hardest thing to keep up with is the number of carcasses that Kim wears.
Hopefully, our arresting billboard on Beverly Boulevard in West Hollywood will inspire the entire Kardashian klan and other shoppers to follow Khloe's example and leave fur off their holiday lists.
When Kim is ready to put an end to her much-publicized relationship with fur, PETA will be happy to take her discards and donate them to the homeless. She can even help us pass them out! I'm sure there's an E! special in there somewhere.
You can get in on the action, too—donate your furs to PETA today.
© Taylor Hill
What do you give a beautiful and charming New York socialite for her birthday? Fur coats, of course. At her birthday luncheon today, Cornelia Guest and her well-wishers donated dozens of their own coats—made from foxes, chinchillas, rabbits, minks, and other animals—to PETA's fur coat giveaway program for the homeless.
PETA Vice President Dan Mathews was on hand to collect the furs and said, "Fur used to be a uniform in high society, but that's all changing, and nobody illustrates that better than Cornelia."
After the vegan birthday cake was served, Cornelia spoke about the hideous cruelty of the fur industry. She said of fur-wearing among members of high society, "It's the fire-hydrant syndrome. Once one dog lifts his leg, they all follow!"
Cornelia also unveiled her new ad for PETA's iconic "I'd Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur" campaign to convince others to swear off fur furever. Her ad will hit New York's streets during the busy holiday-shopping season to remind shoppers that compassion is the fashion.
If you or anyone you know has fur coats moldering away in their closets, why not follow the example of Cornelia and her friends and donate them to PETA? We'll mark them so that they can't be resold and give them to the homeless for a little extra warmth this winter. Remember: Even a little bit of fur trim means a world of suffering for animals on fur farms or who are trapped in the wild.
Written by PETA
Photo: Gabrielle Revere
New York socialite and cruelty-free fashion connoisseur Cornelia Guest is taking her passion for helping animals to great lengths in a brand-new anti-fur ad for PETA:
Cornelia—who is the daughter of one of the best-dressed women of the 20th century, C.Z. Guest—used to wear fur, but she had a change of heart when she learned more about the heartless fur industry. Now, Cornelia shuns animal products of all kinds—she even launched her own line of nonleather handbags at Bloomingdale's.
At her birthday party on November 16, Cornelia will donate all her old furs to PETA, and she is encouraging her guests to do the same. PETA will mark the fur coats so that they can't be resold and will give them to the homeless so that they can be warmer this winter.
And for those of us who have ever wished for a guide to sophisticated vegan soirées, Cornelia has just finished a high-style vegan-entertaining book—replete with original recipes, decorating and party tips, and animal factoids—that will be published in May.
Follow Cornelia's compassionate lead and cleanse your closet of skins. Click here for PETA's guide to cruelty-free fashion.
West Hollywood's City Council is sending a strong message to pelt peddlers: Go faux or get out. In a monumental step for animals, the Council approved a ban on the sale of new apparel fur jackets, vests, stoles, and boots in stores within the city limits.
The City Council heard from people in the fur industry who opposed the ban, but it was also bombarded with calls, letters, and e-mails from PETA supporters, both local and outside the city, urging it to pass the measure. Ellen DeGeneres showed her support for the ban by tweeting, "I just heard West Hollywood has banned the sale of fur. Good for them!" And Stella McCartney penned a letter to the Council saying, "The ban on the sale of fur in West Hollywood is a true example of the kinds of efforts we need to make to influence people that will hopefully lead to positive change."
A PETA member who lives in West Hollywood spoke at Monday night's Council meeting, explaining that all fur is cruel, no matter how the fur industry's PR people try to spin it. She said, "Numerous undercover investigations from China, the U.S., and just about everywhere in between have revealed that foxes, minks, coyotes, and rabbits—and even dogs and cats—are bludgeoned, electrocuted, and often skinned alive for their pelts."
PETA has named WeHo the Most Compassionate U.S. City of 2011 for its progress in seeking to become "the humane capital of the United States." Banning fur sales is just the latest compassionate action for the city, which has already halted pet stores from selling dogs and cats, banned declawing, and officially recognized people with companion animals as "guardians" rather than "owners." We hope that many other cities follow in WeHo's inspiring footsteps.
You can make your home a no-fur zone by signing PETA's Pledge to Be Fur-Free today.
Written by Michelle Sherrow
Staking out towns throughout Ontario, Canada, PETA's sexy cops are after the robbers who stole the skin right off animals' backs.
If you're thinking that maybe it wouldn't be so bad for one of these arrestingly beautiful officers to read you your rights, think again. They're showing no mercy to people who buy fur ripped off live animals, leather from cows and other animals who are routinely hacked apart while still conscious, or wool, which often comes from sheep whose backsides have been mutilated.
Considering that these offenders only got tickets, they got off easy. Click here to check out what "TSA Agent" Pamela Anderson does to would-be airline passengers who are swathed in skin that isn't their own.
We learned that Taraji P. Henson rocks when she proved that she'd rather go naked than wear fur by starring in a sultry PETA ad, and tonight the Oscar and Emmy-nominated actor and singer will be honored on BET's Black Girls Rock, in part for her work for animals.
Photo: Don Flood for ArtMix • Hair: Kim Kimble for Margaret Maldonado Agency • Makeup: Mylah Morales for Celestine Agency
Taraji used to wear fur, but one look at a video showing animals being skinned alive for a bit of fur trim was enough to make her clean the corpses out of her closet. In a behind-the-scenes video from the photo shoot for her PETA ad, Taraji said, "I don't think a living being should suffer for the sake of fashion, period. End of story." (I told you she rocks.)
If you're wondering what to watch tonight, why not settle in for an evening of inspiring TV and support the lovely, compassionate Ms. Henson (who can also be seen in the new hit CBS show Person of Interest). Black Girls Rock will air on BET at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (check local listings for other time zones).
There are just two weeks to go until audiences see Kristen Stewart finally become a vampire in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn—Part I, but last night, K-Stew told Jay Leno that even the bloodless aren't heartless—she would never wear real fur.
Leno showed what appeared to be a furry image from Kristen's W magazine photo shoot that left her fans asking a big "W": Why would she wear that? But Kristen was anxious to put the rumors to rest, saying, "That's not fur—I would never wear fur. … [People said] 'nobody does that [wear fur] anymore and look, she's willing to.' No, I'm actually not, so let's just clear that one up."
Seems like the out-of-touch designers who still use fur are having a harder and harder time finding anyone willing to wear butchered bunnies. It's obvious that stolen skin is out and sparkly skin is in.
Before you head out to reserve your tickets for opening night, check out how Twilight stars Kellan Lutz, Christian Serratos, and Robert Pattinson are shining for animals too.
It's "Flashback Friday," and we're going back to 1996 for some fashion history. But don't worry—it doesn't involve flannel shirts and ripped jeans. The models for this PETA ad that launched 15 years ago today didn't wear anything at all:
Photo: Judson Baker
Boss Models became the first modeling agency to go fur-free when it refused to send any of its talent to photo shoots involving fur. One of Boss' top models, Marcus Schenkenberg (third from the left), went a step further in sending a message that he wouldn't support an industry that genitally electrocutes animals and even skins them alive when he unveiled a plaque at Tunnel, one of New York's most popular nightclubs, that read, "The Only Wildlife Here Is Human—No Fur Coats Allowed."
Take a cue from Boss Models and turn your back on fur. Urge others to do the same by posting this ad on Facebook and Twitter today.
Happy fur-free anniversary, Boss Models!
At Los Angeles' Comikaze Expo, attendees can mingle with the likes of Mark Hamill, Stan Lee, and Elvira; get their favorite comics, games, anime, and cult videos autographed; or even get tattooed. But one thing that is definitely off limits at the L.A. Convention Center this weekend? Fur.
Comikaze will have thrills and chills aplenty, but the real-life horror of animals who were beaten, electrocuted, and skinned alive to be turned into jackets is too cruel for even the most seasoned scream queens. When the folks who created and starred in Halloween, Saw, and Friday the 13th are welcome but fur is too scary to let in the door, you know fur production is a truly terrifying business.
Halloween is over, but you can still share PETA's very real horror movie—featuring undercover footage shot on rabbit fur farms in France and China—with your Facebook friends and ask them to support only killing sprees of the celluloid variety.
If you have a general question for PETA and would like a response, please e-mail Info@peta.org. If you need to report cruelty to an animal, please click here. If you are reporting an animal in imminent danger and know where to find the animal and if the abuse is taking place right now, please call your local police department. If the police are unresponsive, please call PETA immediately at 757-622-7382 and press 2.
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