First City in the Country to Ban Sale of Fur Apparel Is Now Most Compassionate U.S. City of 2011
For Immediate Release:
November 9, 2011
Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382
West Hollywood, Calif. -- West Hollywood has just become the first city in the U.S. to prohibit the sale of new fur apparel. Starting September 2013, none of the new jackets, vests, and other clothing items sold in the city's high-profile fashion houses will be made from real fur. For saving countless animals from being cruelly caged, trapped, bludgeoned, drowned, electrocuted, and even skinned alive for their fur, PETA is giving West Hollywood a Proggy Award for Most Compassionate U.S. City of 2011. "Proggy" stands for "progress" in creating a more humane world.
"Once more, West Hollywood has proven itself to be a leader in kindness," says PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk. "From protecting companion cats from declawing to fighting the homeless-animals crisis by banning the sale of cats and dogs in pet shops to taking a stand against killing animals for their fur, WeHo keeps finding ways to ensure that animals are treated with respect."
Ellen DeGeneres and Stella McCartney have both spoken in favor of the WeHo fur ban, and a PETA representative attended Monday's City Council meeting to attest that there is no such thing as "humane fur." PETA has video footage of fur farms, where animals spend their entire lives in tiny, filthy cages before workers kill them by breaking their necks or by using poison or anal electrocution. In China—the world's largest fur exporter—animals killed for their fur, including cats and dogs, are often skinned alive. All video footage can be viewed at PETA.org.
West Hollywood was also instrumental in pushing for California's Proposition 2, aimed at improving welfare standards for hens used in the state egg industry and addressing other animal-welfare issues.
For more information, please visit PETA's blog.