Contact: Julie Massa, 415-448-0048 x232, julie@idausa.org

SACRAMENTO (May 28, 2019) In Defense of Animals is delighted that California’s groundbreaking bill to implement a statewide fur ban has passed a crucial Assembly floor vote today! This first-of-its-kind legislation could save countless animals from excruciating deaths while potentially leading to the end of the fur industry worldwide.

“The California State Assembly has today given hope to animals and the environment,” said Marilyn Kroplick, MD, President of In Defense of Animals. “We are very happy to be one step closer to a statewide ban on fur which would save countless animals from cruel and unnecessary deaths for the sake of trivial fashion statements. California residents and decision-makers have taken the lead on banning fur in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and West Hollywood, and we now look forward to banning fur throughout California.”

After months of support from California state representatives, residents, and activists, including thousands of messages of support from In Defense of Animals supporters, AB 44 has successfully passed through the Assembly Water, Parks, and Wildlife Committee, and the Judiciary and Appropriations committees.

Now, California’s fur ban bill has passed the highly anticipated Assembly floor vote and will move on to the Senate!

Assemblywoman Laura Friedman’s bill, AB 44, aims to make California the first state in the country to prohibit the sale and manufacture of animal fur products. The bill would make it illegal to manufacture, sell, offer for sale, display for sale, trade, give donate or otherwise distribute a fur product in the state. Those who violate the ban could face civil penalties. Clothing, handbags, shoes, slippers, hats, or key chains that contain fur would all be banned.

Coyotes, chinchillas, foxes, mink, rabbits, and other fur-bearing animals are subjected to unregulated killing methods which cause unimaginable terror and agony, all for the sake of frivolous fashion statements. Animals are gassed, electrocuted, or have their necks broken, while anal or genital electrocution is a common method for killing animals used for fur. Furs from dogs, cats, raccoons, rodents and other animals are often undisclosed or intentionally mislabeled by manufacturers, and fur products are often preserved with chemicals that are damaging to the environment and harmful to human health.

“Given the overwhelming evidence of inhumane practices in the fur industry and the availability of so many different options for warm and fashionable fabrics, we will not continue to be complicit in unnecessary cruelty towards animals solely for the sake of fur,” said Assemblymember Friedman.

California has been on the forefront of anti-fur legislation with trailblazing successes to prohibit the sale of fur products throughout several of its largest cities, including San Francisco, Berkeley, West Hollywood, and Los Angeles. These bans reflect a shift towards animal-friendly apparel and indicate the need for a statewide ban.

A statewide fur ban in one of the country’s most populated and influential states would save millions of defenseless animals from horrific deaths, and would set a precedent for the rest of the country, and perhaps the world, to phase out the use of stolen animal skins simply for fashion.

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In Defense of Animals is an international animal protection organization with over 250,000 supporters and a 30-year history of fighting for animals, people and the environment through education, campaigns and hands-on rescue in India, South Korea, and rural Mississippi. 

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