FDNY Swears Off Future Canada Goose Hookups

The Feathers Are Flying as FDNY Foundation Chief Says ‘Never Again’ to Collaboration With Canadian Company Selling Coats Made From Trapped Coyotes’ Fur and Suffering Geese’s Feathers

For Immediate Release:
April 5, 2018

Contact:
Brooke Rossi 202-483-7382

After PETA alerted the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) to a potential firestorm over its participation in a public-relations stunt by outdoor-clothing retailer Canada Goose, the chair of the FDNY Foundation reviewed damning video footage and other information and confirmed to PETA that the FDNY will never work with Canada Goose again.

According to Chairperson Steve Ruzow, the FDNY Foundation had already taken it upon itself to insist that the limited-edition jackets be fur-free, but it wouldn’t have cooperated with Canada Goose if it had known that the company uses fur from coyotes who are caught in steel traps and bludgeoned to death and down from birds who are cruelly crammed into transport crates—in which some have suffocated from severe crowding and others are taken to slaughterhouses where their throats are slit. Although the FDNY Foundation’s contract with Canada Goose prohibits it from stopping the jackets’ release, the FDNY will not be promoting the coats or the partnership.

“Canada Goose’s desperate attempt to salvage its reputation while continuing to cause coyotes to experience slow, painful deaths in steel traps and terrified geese to be roughly handled and stripped of their feathers is despicable,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “PETA is pleased that the FDNY will never again risk its fantastic reputation for saving lives by helping Canada Goose sell vile fur-lined or down-filled coats.”

PETA’s motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to wear.” For more information, please visit PETA.org.

PETA’s letter to FDNY Fire Commissioner Daniel A. Nigro follows.

April 4, 2018

Daniel A. Nigro

Fire Commissioner

New York City Fire Department

Dear Commissioner Nigro,

On behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and our more than 6.5million members and supporters worldwide, including many, many thousands of dedicated ones in New York City, I urgently implore you to cancel plans for FDNY’s Bravest Coat collection in collaboration with retailer Canada Goose, a company that shares none of your department’s bravery or dedication to serve and protect. It’s under fire (no pun intended) for egregious cruelty to animals, and I do not think FDNY’s reputation should be sullied by this collaboration.

You may not realize that Canada Goose is broadly criticized for using fur from wild coyotes caught in extremely painful steel traps. Please watch this short video showing a coyote frantically attempting to free herself before being beaten to death. Animals fall prey to these barbaric traps, which crush their necks or slam down on their legs, often cutting through to the bone. Victims desperate to free themselves, such as mothers with pups in the den who will starve without them, will actually attempt to chew off their own limbs to escape.

In addition, every Canada Goose jacket is stuffed with the down of birds who suffer terribly. Recently, workers at one of the company’s featured suppliers was videotaped grabbing geese by the neck, two in each hand, and cramming them into transport crates so tightly packed that they couldn’t even lift a wing. The birds were then trucked to a slaughterhouse, where they were hung upside down and their throats were slit in full view of their flockmates. Geese mate for life in the wild, are excellent parents, and are very smart and sensitive animals.

Obviously, there are countless warm and luxurious materials that can easily be used in place of fur and down today. Brands like Gucci, Michael Kors, The North Face, Arc’teryx, and Patagonia no longer sell fur (and entire cities, such as San Francisco, have banned the sale of it by any company)—and other companies like HoodLamb, Wully Outerwear, and Save the Duck are stuffing their coats exclusively with innovative alternatives to down. This is why Canada Goose is desperate to align with upstanding public enterprises like yours—to try to salvage its lost reputation.

Please, do not allow the FDNY to be used by this company. Please let us know that you’ll cancel the planned promotion with Canada Goose. Thank you. I look forward to your quick reply.

Very truly yours,

Ingrid E. Newkirk

President