Macy’s Drops Badger-Hair Brushes After PETA Exposes Animals Caged, Stabbed, and Beaten
For Immediate Release:
August 6, 2026
Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382
A box of delicious vegan chocolates is on the way from PETA to Macy’s in thanks for the company’s decision to stop selling badger-hair brushes. The decision comes after PETA shared disturbing undercover footage revealing that badgers are confined to tiny, filthy cages and that one badger was beaten and stabbed while still conscious at a badger fur farm in China—the world’s leading exporter of badger fur.
In the footage, stressed badgers—several of whom have missing hair and bloody, open wounds—pace constantly inside tiny, filthy cages, chew the wires, and frantically dig at the floor as they try to escape. A worker uses a metal clamp to pull a badger from a cage by the skin of his back, then repeatedly strikes him with the clamp and a chunk of wood before stabbing him with a knife. The badger writhes and groans in pain for more than three minutes while appearing to go in and out of consciousness.
More than 100 retailers have now dropped badger-hair brushes after talks with PETA, with leading shaving company Van Der Hagen and department stores Von Maur and Sears joining the list in recent weeks.
“More companies than ever are embracing a kinder future by cutting ties with the cruel badger hair industry, which torments and kills badgers for brushes,” says PETA President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is celebrating Macy’s compassionate move, and we urge the few remaining holdouts, including MÜHLE and Taylor of Old Bond Street, to read the writing on the wall and follow suit.”
In nature, badgers live with their families in elaborate underground homes that are passed down from one generation to another. They’re fastidiously clean and devoted to protecting each other and their babies.
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—points out that when it comes to the ability to feel pain, hunger, and fear, a badger is a dog is a boy. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.
