Brown Thomas Says “no More Fur”!!

national | animal rights | press release Monday December 10, 2007 12:28 by ALiberation - ALiberation aliberationnow at gmail dot com 085 7195668

Brown Thomas and BT2 turn their back on cruel fur trade.

Last week, Stephen Sealey, the Brown Thomas Group Buying Director declared by email that his store s policy from February 2008 will be to stock no real fur products. Mr. Sealey confirmed that Brown Thomas will have a Fur Free policy; “from February 2008, Brown Thomas do not intend to stock any fur products. We work with a number of concession partners, and we have communicated this policy to them.” “to confirm we have told all concession partners they cannot sell rabbit fur, or other real fur in Brown Thomas and BT2”. Furthermore, Mr. Sealey added that “the only fur type product that will be acceptable in Brown Thomas is synthetic fur, or leather/suede/sheepskin/shearling.”

Brown Thomas has been criticized for many years for its commitment to the sale of real fur. A concerned public and a number of animal rights groups had requested that Brown Thomas stop selling fur.

This long running campaign by animal rights groups AFAR, ARAN, ALiberation and CAFT Ireland reached a new level of intensity in recent months with members of ALiberation demonstrating during peak shopping hours weekly up to 4 days a week outside the main entrance to Brown Thomas on Grafton St in Dublin. Tens of thousands of people signed the petition to boycott Brown Thomas until they went fur free.

Last week, Stephen Sealey, the Brown Thomas Group Buying Director declared by email that his store s policy from February 2008 will be to stock no real fur products. Mr. Sealey confirmed that Brown Thomas will have a Fur Free policy; “from February 2008, Brown Thomas do not intend to stock any fur products. We work with a number of concession partners, and we have communicated this policy to them.” “to confirm we have told all concession partners they cannot sell rabbit fur, or other real fur in Brown Thomas and BT2”. Furthermore, Mr. Sealey added that “the only fur type product that will be acceptable in Brown Thomas is synthetic fur, or leather/suede/sheepskin/shearling.”

Brown Thomas had specialized in Rabbit fur and had initially taken the view that the sale of Rabbit fur was not part of the fur industry. However, when the facts were viewed by Brown Thomas they agreed to change their fur policy as “Brown Thomas has no desire to support businesses which profit from animal cruelty.”

The fact that no real fur will be sold in Brown Thomas or BT2 stores throughout Ireland is a significant blow to the fur industry in this country; an industry that directly kills 170,000 animals in 6 fur farms in Ireland each year. Due to weak Irish laws this caged torture continues today in a modern Ireland

With its decision to adopt a fur free policy, Brown Thomas has joined a growing list of influential designers and stores that have removed themselves from the cruelty inherent in the fur trade. Examples of fur free stores include Marks & Spencer, Dunnes Stores, Debenhams, Next, Top Shop, and Karen Millen.

ALiberation welcomed the move by Brown Thomas and BT2. Ed Long, member of ALiberation explains that “fur is cruel and unnecessary; nobody will die from not wearing fur except the animal who will have being caged for their entire life. In the past other large stores had committed to a fur free policy only to then betray the public and later sell fur. We trust that Brown Thomas will be faithful to their word.”

Next Saturday a National Fur Free Day will be celebrated. Around the country different events will be held by different Animal Rights groups. In Dublin the meeting point will be outside Pamela Scott on Grafton St at 12noon. This day, along with Brown Thomas s fur free policy, is intended to send a clear message to stores like Pamela Scott, Richard Alan, Barnardo's Furriers, Sydney Vards and Donnelly Leathers to listen to the large majority of the Irish public and to give up selling fur.

Facts:

Rabbit Fur:
•
No known number is known for the amount of rabbits killed for fur. However recent figures suggest that it may be 180million killed each year primarily for fur
Rabbits bred for their meat are usually killed around the age of 10-12 weeks when their skin is still thin. By contrast, fur rabbits are killed at several months old by which time they have developed a thicker skin and coat.

• Mortality rates are high for rabbits bred for fur - usually between 10 - 15% and as high as 25 - 30%. The farms account for this loss without affecting their profit margin. This is a far higher mortality rate than in other commercial animal farming. The rabbits mostly die from respiratory disease.

• It is very common for rabbits to die en route to slaughter and rates as high as 7 or 8% have been reported. This is often due to the way the rabbits are tightly packed in; viruses can be easily spread and poor ventilation causes respiratory failure. Broken bones and traumatic lesions are also common, due to bad handling.

• The rabbits may be killed by clubbing to the head and slitting their throats. The rabbits may be held in crates piled eight high in view of those being slaughtered. Covered in faeces and urine from rabbits in crates above them, some of the rabbits are still alive as they bleed to death

Irish Fur Farms:

• Fur farming is banned in the Britain and Northern Ireland but it still continues in the Republic. Six mink farms and one fox farm kill over 170,000 each year just for fur.
• In March 2005 a Bill to ban fur farming was defeated narrowly by the then government at the time. The bill was introduced by Dan Boyle (Green Party) while in opposition. With the Green party now in government, there is strong hope the issue will be raised again to ban fur farming in the Republic of Ireland.

• On Irish fur farms; Mink are kept in cages about 3 foot long and 1 foot wide, with a small nest box at one end. Fox cages have a floor area of about 4 foot by 4 foot and are about 28 inches high. These animals will never be allowed out of these cages unless they are manhandled to be impregnated, assessed or killed.

Fur Farms Facts:

• Minks, foxes, rabbits, raccoon dogs and other fur bearing animals are bred and killed in horrible circumstances. During their short lifetime, these innately wild animals are confined in small, barren cages.
• Commonly used killing methods include gassing, anal electrocution, poisoning, and neck braking. These methods make sure that the animal’s fur is not damaged. However, they are not 100% effective, and animals are sometimes skinned while still conscious.

• Up to 2 million Dogs and Cats are killed for the fur industry each year

Trapping:

• Animals that live in the wild, such as raccoons, coyotes and foxes are mostly captured by leg-hold traps, causing severe pain and stress in the animals.

• Usually, the animals are caught in winter, because of the good quality of their fur, which often leads them to freeze to death.
• Sometimes, the animals chew off their leg in order to escape.
• If they somehow manage to stay alive until the trapper returns, they are usually killed by neck braking or clubbing.

Contact:
Willie of ALiberation: 085 7195668
Ed of ALiberation: 086 3203643