Notes from the Humane Society of the U.S. for Nov.

[Moonie]

A Fur-Free Culture


Bobcats like this kitten may fall victim to cruel traps, all for the sake of fashion.
Along with colorful leaves and crisp apples, fall brings an increase in the amount of animal fur worn and sold—and untold suffering to furbearing animals, 40 million of whom are slaughtered each year for nothing more than vanity. The aim of The HSUS’s new Fur-Free Campaign is to create a culture for compassionate clothing, from the top executives in the fashion industry to the single shopper at the local retail store.

Starting at the top, the campaign is raising cruelty-free consciousness in the fashion industry and networking with opinion makers. During New York's Olympus Fashion Week in September, campaign members talked to the fashion world's power brokers to open their eyes about the cruelty stitched into every fur fabric, including fur trim. You can read about their efforts in the Fashion Week 2005 Fur Blog.

With an eye on the future, the campaign has launched a new design contest called "Cool vs. Cruel," which challenges fashion design students to create cruelty-free versions of outfits designed with fur. The winner of the contest, to be announced December 19, will receive a publicity boost and an expense-paid internship with a pair of famous designers, Marc Bouwer and Atom Gaelyn, in New York City.

The campaign's "Coats for Cubs" program is spreading the message of compassion to even younger people. In cities around the country this fall, What You Can Do
» Sign the Fur-Free Pledge not to buy or wear fur.

Girl Scouts and animal advocates will gather used fur and fur-trimmed garments and send them to wildlife rehabilitators, who use the fur to provide warmth and comfort to orphaned wildlife. Traditionally, the day after Thanksgiving is the start of the holiday shopping season, but to the Fur-Free Campaign it's "Fur-Free Friday," when we have a special collection drive and ask shoppers not to buy fur or fur trim.

Finally, there's the grassroots element—in this case, the consumers, who are the foundation upon which the Fur-Free Campaign is built. Besides posting our fall fashion guide, the campaign is running ads in People magazine with the message that the animals need their fur more than we do. In conjunction with that advertising campaign, we invited people to take the Fur-Free pledge not to buy or wear fur. Please join the more than 53,000 people who have already signed the pledge, and ask your friends to join you.

Do the Right Thing
Even though the National Marine Fisheries Service recognizes that continued ship strikes could push the critically imperiled North Atlantic right whale population to extinction, the agency refused to issue emergency measures to deal with the problem. The HSUS is taking them to court.


Man's Best Friend, Betrayed
How did the much-maligned and misunderstood American pit bull terrier become Public Enemy No. 1? Off the Chain, a new DVD by director Bobby J. Brown, unflinchingly examines the subculture of underground dog fighting to find the answer. Order your copy of this ground-breaking exposé.

[Sam]

FREE FUR ALL!!!???
HMMMMM.. we have minks that live in the saltmarshes. First time I saw one it was "island hopping" on masses of drifting marsh grass. Thought I was seeing things, because it moved so fast. I guess I would move that fast too if someone wanted to steal my skin or I would become a meal for something. BTW those little critters can be VICIOUS. One or two of them in a woman's purse would no doubt be an excellent deterent to keep the purses safe. Anyone that snatched a purse would realize very soon, when they opened it, they made a MAJOR MISTAKE and need to find a safer job.
As for wearing fur...well I will if it is in an extreme enviroment and it keeps me warm....I think most anyone else would too.

Also the Right Whales ( as opposed the Left or Wrong whales ) visit this area every year ( anytime around late Jan usually in Feb-March) to calve.

They got the name "Right whale" as they were the right whale to hunt, since the whalers could get more oil from them than other whales.

[CaptainP]

Free Fur? Wow! Aren't they usually expensive?

[land_shark3]

Free Fur? Wow! Aren't they usually expensive?