For Immediate Release:
December 14, 2004

Contact:
Pulin Modi 757-622-7382  

Houston — Waving posters splashed with graphic images of rabbits who are being decapitated, with the caption "Wet Seal Tortures Rabbits," PETA members will urge shoppers to boycott the youth-oriented chain until it agrees to stop selling clothing and accessories made from the fur of rabbits and other animals. An activist dressed as a giant rabbit will mourn over a coffin filled with dead "bunnies" while others hand out leaflets featuring anti-fur quotes from famous musicians, including P!nk, Simple Plan, and Good Charlotte:

Date: Wednesday, December 15
Time: 12 noon
Place: Houston Galleria, near the pedestrian crosswalk on South Post Oak Boulevard, between West Alabama and Westheimer roads

PETA launched a nationwide boycott of Wet Seal this month after Vice President of Investor Relations/Communications Helen Rotherham told PETA that Wet Seal "has no intention at this time or any time in the future of removing fur from our stores." PETA hopes to persuade Wet Seal to follow the lead of trendy retailer Forever 21, which recently announced that it would no longer sell fur.

Millions of rabbits are killed every year for their fur and their flesh. Animals on fur factory farms spend their entire lives confined to tiny, filthy metal cages with no shelter from weather extremes. To kill rabbits, fur farmers break the animals’ necks or smash their skulls before stringing them up by their legs, cutting off their heads, and skinning them.

"There’s a world of suffering in every little bit of rabbit-fur trim," says PETA Senior Campaign Coordinator Lisa Franzetta. "Because animal rights issues are of growing concern to young women, banning fur makes perfect sense for Wet Seal—both ethically and economically."

The Houston protest is part of PETA’s "Boycott Wet Seal" Tour, which also includes stops in South Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, and Florida.

For more information, please visit FurIsDead.com.