Get Ready for Fur Free Friday 2007
Start making plans now for the year's biggest anti-fur event
View scheduled events for Fur Free Friday 2007.
Every year on the day after Thanksgiving for the last two decades, thousands of people around the U.S. have held demonstrations, marches, vigils and other activities for Fur Free Friday to protest a global multi-billion dollar industry that kills over 40 million animals annually. Holding this national day of action on the busiest shopping day of the year allows activists to reach the greatest number of consumers, including those who may be thinking about buying fur as a gift or for their own use.
While fewer full-length coats are being sold, the popularity of fur trim, often used on jacket collars and cuffs, has dramatically increased in the last decade. Industry experts predict that the number of pelts used to make fur trim will soon surpass those used for full-length garments. Fur manufacturers and fashion designers have especially used fur trim to target the youth market. Fur trim is the industry's way of "introducing" young consumers to fur, increasing the chances of their purchasing a full-length garment in the future. The media reinforces the idea of fur being fashionable by showing supermodels, rappers and other celebrities wearing fur and fur trim while remaining silent about the cruelty involved in its production.
Consumers' ignorance of fur production cruelty is essential to the fur industry's survival. Animals raised in fur mills are killed by anal or vaginal electrocution, which fries them from the inside out and stops their hearts while they are fully conscious. About one quarter of animals caught in the wild with traps escape by chewing their own limbs off (only to be killed by predators). If people knew the ugly truth about fur production, including the industry's use of fur from dogs and cats, they would realize that even a little trim causes animals a lot of unnecessary suffering. Yet fur is now sold not only in fancy fur boutiques but also by mainstream department stores like Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale's and Macy's. Fur's broader availability as a commodity "normalizes" cruelty, making it easier for consumers to block out the fur trade's animal fashion victims.
What You Can Do:
Every year, animal advocates use both tried-and-true tactics and creative new ways to wake people up to the painful and deadly ordeal that animals like foxes, mink and chinchillas undergo to make a profit for the fur industry. For example:
- Anti-fur marches bring a compassionate message to the streets where people throng on the busiest shopping day of the year in search of gifts for their loved ones. Energetic anti-fur protesters on the march remind them to leave animal pelts off their shopping lists.
- Fur funerals and vigils honor the lives and mourn the deaths of the over 40 million animals that are killed every year to make fur garments, toys and fashion accessories.
- Street theatre brings the suffering of fur-bearing animals to life and engages audiences with props, drama and creative costumes.
- Undercover video footage shows people what the fur industry is desperate to hide: the abuse of animals that is a daily part of their inhumane operations. Exposing fur mills or wildlife trapping with a battery-powered TV/VCR or TV-equipped FaunaVision vehicle is an incredibly powerful way to make a lasting impression on people who may never have seen the reality of animals' suffering before.
- Film screenings give people an opportunity to learn about the fur issue in greater depth, empowering them to speak out against cruelty to animals. Tribe of Heart's The Witness tells the powerful story of one man's sudden awakening to animal suffering and attempts to educate others. This documentary remains one of the most effective tools animal advocates have to open people's eyes to the fur industry's abuse of animals.
IDA has big plans to help animals this Fur Free Friday: what about you? Please be a hero to animals this November 23rd by taking part in this important annual day of action aimed at putting the brutal fur trade out of business. If you would like more information on getting involved, please contact furfree@idausa.org.
