IDA Urges Shoppers to Go Fur-Free on Busiest Shopping Day

Activists Gather around the U.S. in Observance of Fur Free Friday

San Rafael, Calif.—Pictures of beautiful foxes, beavers, wolves, and other furbearing animals with the words, “Thank you for not buying fur,” are part of the message shoppers will see on the busiest shopping day of the year. Members of In Defense of Animals (IDA) will also screen video footage that depicts the ugly truth about what happens to these animals before people get to wear their fur. The demonstrations take place across the U.S. on the day after Thanksgiving, which has become known nationally as Fur Free Friday:

California
Beverly Hills
When: Friday, November 23, 2007 11:00 a.m.
Where: Starting at the corner of Rodeo Dr. and Santa Monica Blvd.
Local Contact: Bill Dyer (310) 301-7730

San Francisco
When: Friday, November 23, 2007, 12:00 noon
Where: Union Square, at the intersection of Post St. and Stockton St.
Local Contact: Melissa Gonzalez (415) 305-8633

Connecticut
Milford
When: Friday, November 23, 2007, 1:00 p.m.
Where: Reichbind Furs, 1770 Boston Post Rd., Milford, Conn.
Local Contact: Wendy Horowitz (203) 435-4044

Illinois
Chicago
When: Friday, November 23, 2007, 12:00 p.m.
Where: 50 W. Washington St.
Local Contact: Kim Thompson (312) 401-7972

Oregon
Portland
When: Friday, November 23, 2007, march begins at 11:30 a.m
Where: Corners of SW Broadway, SW Yamhill and SW Morrison (by Pioneer Courthouse Square)
Local Contact: Matt Rossell (503) 890-5151

Pennsylvania
Philadelphia
When: Friday, November 23, 2007, 12:00 p.m.
Where: Ferber Furs, 1708 Walnut St.
Local Contact: Nona Carrasto (503) 490-5660

Tennessee
Knoxville
What: Actress Elaine Hendrix Urges Shoppers to Go Fur Free on Busiest Shopping Day of the Year
When: Friday, November 23, 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Where: West Town Mall (at the intersection of Kingston Pike and Morrell Road)
Local Contact: (757) 374-8112

Texas
Dallas
What: Actress/Recording Artist Lacey Conner Urges Shoppers to Go Fur-Free on Busiest Shopping Day of the Year
When: Friday, November 23, 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Where: Downtown Dallas Neiman Marcus, 1618 Main St.
Contact: Kristie Phelps (757) 763-0626

Houston
When: Friday, November 23 Time: 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Where: Houston Galleria, Neiman Marcus entrance across from Dillard’s, Houston, Tx.
Local Contact: Kerri Milam (512) 785-0616

Advocates want shoppers to realize that tremendous suffering is involved for animals killed for their fur, reminding them that animals die for trim on coats, shoes, ear muffs, and gloves. China has become the foremost fur supplier to the U.S. An investigation of Chinese fur farms revealed workers attempting to knock the animals out by repeatedly slamming them against the ground or bashing their heads with clubs, but such primitive methods leave many animals fully conscious, visibly blinking and breathing for as long as ten minutes after the fur is ripped from their raw, bloodied bodies.

“The holidays are a time for joyful celebration. We’re asking shoppers to not buy into violence and killing that is involved in every fur-trimmed hood or full-length coat,” says IDA spokesperson Melissa Gonzalez. “Anyone who sees the anguish suffered by the animals whose coats they want to wear would agree there’s nothing pretty about it.”

Many celebrated designers, such as Marc Bouwer, Ralph Lauren, Stella McCartney and Kenneth Cole, refuse to design with fur, and several prominent retail chains including Gap, H & M, JCrew, and Forever 21 have pledged not to sell real fur.

For more information on IDA’s anti-fur campaign, please visit: www.FurKills.org.