Contact: 

Fleur Dawes, media@idausa.org, 415-879-6879

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

SACRAMENTO, CA (September 10, 2019) - In Defense of Animals is delighted to announce that California’s landmark bill to ban fur has passed today’s highly-anticipated Senate floor vote! This revolutionary legislation would make California the first state in the country to enact a statewide ban on fur sales. If Governor Gavin Newsom signs the bill into law, fur-bearing animals will be saved from agonizing deaths while potentially leading to the end of the fur industry worldwide. 

“We are so happy that the California State Senate is backing this monumental bill to defend innocent animals and the environment,” said Marilyn Kroplick, M.D., President of In Defense of Animals. “A statewide ban on fur would save countless animals from unnecessary, agonizing deaths for the sake of trivial fashion statements. We are thrilled this groundbreaking legislation has been supported by the California State Legislature."

"We eagerly anticipate Governor Newsom’s signature to sign AB 44 into law," said Fleur Dawes, Communications Director for In Defense of Animals. "California residents and decision-makers have already banned fur in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and West Hollywood, and we now look forward to banning fur throughout the entire state of California.”

Due to the tremendous support from the California State Legislature, residents, and passionate activists, including thousands of messages of support from In Defense of Animals supporters, California’s fur ban bill has passed the Assembly and Senate, and is now just two steps away from becoming law. AB 44 will now return to the Assembly for approval of a proposed amendment to push the effective date to 2023, and will then be presented to Governor Newsom to sign into law.

AB 44, presented by Assemblywoman Laura Friedman, aims to make California the first state in the country to prohibit the sale and manufacture of animal fur products. If signed into law, 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 from such sales. 

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 like fur trim, coats, and accessories. Animals are gassed, bludgeoned, 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 at 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 36-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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