PETA Asks Burberry Shareholders To Pressure Company To Drop Fur
For Immediate Release:
18 June 2008
Contact:
Sam Glover 020 7357 9229, ext 229 [email protected]
London – People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Europe have mailed letters to the 2,000 Burberry shareholders with the largest stakes in the company urging them to pressure company executives to follow the lead of progressive designers worldwide and stop using fur in their garments. In its letter, PETA included a link to its website PETA.org.uk/bb, where visitors can view video footage that debunks Burberry’s claim that the Finnish fur farms – where the company says it sources its fur – maintain the “highest standards of ethical animal treatment”.
PETA also explains that fur farms are prohibited in the UK and that 93 per cent of the British public oppose buying or wearing fur. PETA’s repeated offers to meet with Burberry executives to discuss how easy it would be for the company to switch to luxurious faux fur have been met with silence or public promises which are never kept.
Animals on fur farms spend their entire lives in tiny cages and are subjected to all weather extremes, including rain, snow and heat. The animals cannot engage in any natural behaviour and commonly develop severe physical ailments – including diseases and parasites – and endure extreme stress and fear. Killing methods include gassing with exhaust fumes, anal or vaginal electrocution, and beatings. Many animals are not killed outright and are skinned alive. Although Burberry claims that Finnish farms have high welfare standards, their only standards relate to pelt quality, and what PETA documented in the video link sent to shareholders – including animals crammed into tiny barren wire cages – is both legal and standard.
Top international designers – including Stella McCartney, Vivienne Westwood, Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger – refuse to use fur.
“Burberry’s shareholders have a right to know how their company is directly supporting cruelty to animals”, says PETA Europe’s Campaigns Coordinator Robert Cogswell. “Consumers care about animal welfare, so it’s in Burberry’s best interests to go fur-free, or shareholders could pay the price in diminishing returns.”
PETA’s letter to Burberry shareholders is available upon request. For more information, please visit PETA.org.uk.