Pam’s High Hopes for a Fur-Free Israel
After her honeymoon in Israel, compassionate star Pamela Anderson felt moved to send a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in heartfelt support of a proposed new bill to ban the sale of animal fur. The groundbreaking law, if it passes, would make Israel the first country in the world to take such clear and decisive action against the barbaric fur trade. Pamela wrote in her letter:
I’m writing to urge you to do everything in your power to help pass this historic bill, which has been signed by 40 members of the Knesset and includes an exemption for religious purposes.
You once said, “With my responsibility as prime minister to protect the lives of people here, I feel committed to increase awareness to fight cruelty toward animals.” Please take a few moments to watch this video, which shows undercover footage of animals who were bludgeoned, electrocuted, and even skinned alive for their fur. I hope you’ll agree that the way in which animals suffer and die for fur violates Jewish principles, which strictly prohibit causing animals unnecessary suffering. … The fur industry is trying desperately to stop this bill. Mr. Prime Minister, please use your influence to spread a message of kindness toward all living beings by showing your support for this bill. By passing this piece of legislation, Israel would set an example of compassion for the rest of the world to follow.
Israel’s record on animal rights is strong: not only did the country ban cosmetics testing on animals in 2013, it also looks set to put in place a historic ban on selling foie gras. Banning the sale of fur would be another extremely impressive step forward and make a real contribution to the struggle “to eliminate some of the senseless violence that we inflict on animals”.
Pamela has clout when it comes to persuading world leaders to do the right thing for animals. In 2010, she appealed to Russia’s President Vladimir Putin to end his country’s import of seal fur from Canada. Shortly afterwards, Russia announced a ban on Canadian seal fur imports, effectively ending one of the last major markets for this disgraceful product. We hope that Netanyahu will be equally amenable to arguments based on compassion and stand strong on Israel’s proposed fur ban.
Although fur farms are banned in the UK, the sale of fur is still perfectly legal, even if deeply unethical. Please make sure never to buy or wear fur. You can also speak out against barbaric fur farming, which is still going on in Ireland, with around 225,000 minks a year imprisoned in these hellholes.
