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No animals should die for fashion! Tragically, over 100 million innocent animals are brutally killed each year to make coats, trim, and other accessories. Major retailers including Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, and T.J. Maxx stores have all eliminated the sale of animal fur. Now, we must urge Etsy, one of the largest global online marketplaces, to do the same!

Shoppers and retailers across the globe have acknowledged the cruelty of fur and have demanded that retailers act. Mega-retailers including Macy's, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Nordstrom have eliminated fur from their stores and online catalogs. More than 1,500 brands including Canada Goose, Versace, Michael Kors, Gucci, Prada, Burberry, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, Adidas, Stella McCartney, Vivienne Westwood, and Armani are among the many fashion brands that have made fur-free commitments. Elle magazine recently announced it would no longer include animal fur in its magazine or online. We are still trying to convince Vogue to do the same.

Animal victims of the fur trade — including foxes, chinchillas, mink, sables, coyotes, raccoon dogs, and other fur-bearing animals — are bludgeoned, internally electrocuted, gassed, or shot before their fur is ripped from their bodies to make fur trim, coats, home decor, and accessories. Millions of rabbits are also killed for their fur. Investigations have indicated that some animals may be skinned alive. Animals are also caught in the wild, where they suffer for prolonged periods and subjected to harsh conditions, starvation and dehydration, and predator attacks before being shot and skinned by trappers.

Much of the supply is imported from China since many parts of Europe have banned or severely limited fur farming. Dogs and cats are often used and deliberately mislabeled and exported to the U.S. to be sold to unsuspecting customers in retail stores.

Domestically, The North American Fur Auction currently sells over ten million farmed minks per year and has the largest and most diverse collection of wild fur as well as farmed fox fur. As of 2017, there were 236 mink farms in the U.S., which produced around 3.3 million pelts. By 2020, the number of pelts produced decreased by over 50% due to reduced consumer demand and major fashion brands going fur-free.

It is important to remember that fur is not only cruel but also dangerous for all of us. Mink are highly susceptible to COVID-19. Mink fur farms around the globe were infected with the deadly disease, leading to millions of minks being cruelly gassed to death and buried in mass graves. In a recent investigation of mink farm residents, employees, and/or individuals with whom they had been in contact, 68% had evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Individuals were shown to have been infected with strains of the same virus variant as the minks on-site, providing evidence of animal-to-human transmission of SARS-CoV-2 within mink farms. This means the virus passed from mink to humans and back again, spawning mutated strains of the virus, which experts suggest may impact the efficacy of vaccines.

In 2019, California passed groundbreaking legislation to ban the sale of new fur products. Wellesley and Brookline, Massachusetts, Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Hallandale Beach, Florida have all banned the sale of new fur products. Boulder, Colorado has banned the sale, as well as the manufacture, of new fur products. Israel was officially the first country to ban the retail sale of fur, and Italy is the latest country to ban mink fur farming. Ireland is on the brink of banning fur farming as well. Similar legislation has been proposed in locations around the world including in the United States as part of the America COMPETES Act of 2022.

Letter to Decision Maker(s) for reference:

Subject: Eliminate the Sale of Animal Fur on Etsy!

As one of over 250,000 In Defense of Animals supporters, I respectfully urge you to eliminate animal fur from the Etsy marketplace. No animals should die for fashion and I ask you to become the latest retailer to take a stand against the immensely destructive fur trade.

The fur-free movement continues to grow with the demand for compassionately-made products. Animal victims of the fur trade are confined, bludgeoned, internally electrocuted, gassed, or shot before their fur is ripped from their bodies to make fur trim, coats, home decor, and accessories. Investigations have indicated that some animals may be skinned alive. Animals are also caught in the wild, where they suffer for prolonged periods and are subjected to harsh conditions, starvation and dehydration, and predator attacks before being shot and skinned by trappers.

Shoppers and retailers across the globe have acknowledged the cruelty of fur and have demanded that retailers act. Mega-retailers including Macy's, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Nordstrom have eliminated fur from their stores. Canada Goose, Versace, Michael Kors, Gucci, Prada, Burberry, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, Stella McCartney, Vivienne Westwood, and Armani are among the many fashion brands that have made fur-free commitments. Elle magazine recently announced it would no longer include animal fur in its magazine or online. Israel has banned the sale of most fur items and Italy has banned mink fur farming. Ireland is on the brink of banning fur farming as well. Similar legislation has been proposed in locations around the world including in the United States as part of the America COMPETES Act of 2022. 
 
It is important to remember that fur is not only cruel but also dangerous to all of us. Mink are highly susceptible to COVID-19. Mink fur farms around the globe were infected with the deadly disease, leading to millions of minks being cruelly gassed to death and buried in mass graves. In a recent investigation of mink farm residents, employees, and/or individuals with whom they had been in contact, 68% had evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Individuals were shown to have been infected with strains of the same virus variant as the minks on-site, providing evidence of animal-to-human transmission of SARS-CoV-2 within mink farms. This means the virus passed from mink to humans and back again, spawning mutated strains of the virus, which experts suggest may impact the efficacy of vaccines.
 
It is clear that fur is cruel, outdated, and dangerous. Isn’t it time for Etsy to join the fur-free movement to meet consumer demand for fur-free fashion? Please eliminate the sale of all items containing animal fur, including clothing, accessories, home decor, and trinkets, on the Etsy marketplace. Thank you for your full consideration of this important matter.

Sincerely,

Signed

Victory! This alert made a difference for animals! Learn more.