Queen Guitarist Brian May Delivers Huge Fur-Free Petition to Downing Street
This morning, Queen guitarist Brian May joined animal-protection campaigners and a giant “fox” and “rabbit” outside 10 Downing Street to hand in a petition with more than 400,000 signatures urging Prime Minister Theresa May to introduce a UK animal-fur import ban.
The petition forms part of the Fur Free Britain campaign by UK animal charities, including PETA. More than a quarter of the signatures were gathered for a UK Government and Parliament petition, which met its goal of 100,000 signees last week, triggering a parliamentary debate on the UK fur trade, which will take place in June.
“Hundreds of thousands of British people have supported our call for a Fur Free Britain, so we hope Mrs May will take decisive action to address the current double standard on fur cruelty,” says a Fur Free Britain campaign spokesperson. “Britain made its stance on fur clear almost two decades ago by banning fur farming because it’s unethical, so it makes no sense to still be importing hundreds of millions of pounds of fur from animals who have endured horrific cruelty in other countries. It’s time the UK pulled the plug on the fur trade.”
Fur farming was banned in the UK in 2000, but since then, Britain has imported animal fur worth more than £650 million from countries such as China and Poland, where animals are typically bred in appalling conditions on fur farms.
The Fur Free Britain campaign is calling on the government to address this contradiction by using Brexit as an opportunity to make the UK a fur-free zone. Campaigners want the existing import bans on cat, dog, and commercially hunted seal fur extended to protect all species.
What You Can Do
The campaign against fur is gathering momentum as some of the world’s largest luxury fashion brands, including Gucci, Michael Kors, and Jimmy Choo, ditch fur in favour of cruelty-free fabrics. Celebrities are also speaking out against the fur trade – 31 of Britain’s biggest stars recently called for a UK ban.
The more people who speak out against this horrendous industry, the sooner we’ll end it. Please add your voice to our current petitions:
