Fur Shame: House of Fraser Hit with Protests on ‘Fur-Free Friday’

For Immediate Release:
29 November 2019

Contact:
Sascha Camilli +44 (0) 20 7923 6244; [email protected]

FUR SHAME: HOUSE OF FRASER HIT WITH PROTESTS ON ‘FUR-FREE FRIDAY’
Animal Protection Groups Call For Department Store to Reinstate Its No-Fur Policy

London – Armed with posters proclaiming, “House of Horrors: House of Fraser, Bring Back Your Fur Ban” and “Don’t Be Black-Hearted: Ban Animal Fur,” a group of protesters descended on House of Fraser’s Oxford Street store today, Fur-Free Friday – also known as “Black Friday” – to call on the department store to bring back its policy prohibiting the sale of fur.  The action is a joint effort by some of the UK’s largest animal protection groups, including PETA, Humane Society International (HSI), Four Paws, Open Cages, and Viva!

Photos from the action are available here, here, here, and here.

“Most shoppers object to killing wild animals in painful ways for frivolous fashion items, and many are ready to boycott any retailer that still supports the cruel fur trade,” says PETA Director Elisa Allen. “House of Fraser must reinstate its no-fur policy immediately – otherwise it will find its stores empty of customers this winter.”

“HSI is shocked and disappointed that House of Fraser ditched its long-standing fur-free policy in a misguided attempt at flogging cruel fur from raccoon dogs, rabbits and foxes, animals who have spent a lifetime suffering in tiny cages on fur farms, and coyotes who’ve been wild-caught in brutal metal traps,” says HSI UK Executive Director Claire Bass. “Fraught finances are no excuse for a company to throw its morals into the bargain bin. The swift and loud public outcry has clearly shown [owner Mike] Ashley that fur is not a sound business decision, and we are pleased to see it has been removed from sale, but we now need House of Fraser to publicly reassure consumers that the company will reinstate its fur-free policy – something it has so far failed to do.”

While fur-trimmed coats were removed from the retailer’s website and high-street stores last week – presumably in response to the public outrage caused by the sale of these items – House of Fraser has yet to reinstate its no-fur policy officially.

PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to wear” – points out that on factory farms, where 85% of the fur in the world is produced, animals have no opportunity to do anything that’s natural to them, which can cause them to go insane and resort to cannibalism or self-mutilation. Animals on fur farms have been found with infections, sores, missing limbs, and festering wounds. Baby animals were seen living next to the rotting corpses of their mothers. Fur farmers kill animals in the cheapest ways possible, including by anal and vaginal electrocution, poisoning, gassing, and drowning, and some animals are skinned while still conscious.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.uk.

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