Respect for Animals is welcomes the decision by Oldham Council to approve a motion committing the Local Authority to prohibiting the sale of real fur on council land and joining our Fur Free Markets scheme.

Liberal Democrat Councillors Julia Turner and Chris Gloster proposed the motion at the full meeting of Oldham Council  on Wednesday 12 September. It is understood that Council passed the motion comprehensively with only one vote against.

Ahead of the meeting Cllr Turner said:

 “Regrettably customers often have no idea that they are buying products which contain real fur as they are often sold under the guise of ‘faux fur’. Real fur is sometimes used for trims on hats, gloves, and footwear, and pom-poms on hats and clothing. Although the UK banned domestic fur farming in 2000, it is still legal to sell products containing some types of real fur that have been imported. Imported fur can be very cheap, but it comes at a price of extreme cruelty to the animals it came from.

“100 million animals every year are killed for fur. Much of the fur we import into our country comes from China, where there is practically no animal welfare legislation. It comes from animals raised in deplorable conditions and killed by gassing or anal electrocution. There have even been instances filmed of animals being skinned alive. Other animals are cruelly trapped in the wild by steel jawed leg-hold traps. Once caught, many go to great lengths to try to escape, often breaking teeth as they bite the steel trap, sometimes even chewing off their trapped limbs in their desperation.

“I am sure that the vast majority of shoppers would be horrified to find they had accidentally purchased a real fur product knowing the abominable cruelty that these animals suffer. By working with the charity Respect for Animals, we can ensure that real fur products are banned in Oldham.”

 

Real fur is becoming common at markets across the country, often sold extremely cheaply and without customers knowing that it is real. Bobble hats are a particular problem. We’ve contacted every Council in the country about their policy towards selling fur on their land and given them a rating out of five. By joining Fur Free Markets, Councils will receive a FIVE STAR rating, like Oldham.

See how your Council rates here.

 

Please ask YOUR local council to debate a similar motion.  Below is the Oldham motion, which asks as a great template for all councils.

The motion reads:

 Fur Free Markets

 This Council notes that:

• The United Kingdom has outlawed the farming of animals for their fur on ethical grounds since 2000 and that the use of one of the most common traps used to catch animals for their fur has been illegal for many years.
• Nonetheless fur products are imported from overseas nations, particularly China, where such bans do not operate and where there is virtually no animal welfare legislation in force.
• Real fur comes from animals raised in deplorable conditions or trapped in the wild and killed inhumanely.
• Regrettably these products are often found for sale on public markets in the UK and customers can inadvertently buy them thinking them to be made of imitation fur.

Accordingly Council resolves to:

• Prohibit the sale of any product wholly or partially made with real animal fur on Council owned land and at Council run or Council leased markets. This ban to cover such items as fur coats, vintage fur, fur shawls, garments with fur trim, fur pompom hats, and fur accessories and trinkets.
• Support the Fur Free Markets campaign of the animal welfare charity, Respect for Animals, the UK’s leading anti-fur organisation, by:

Ø Becoming a signatory to the initiative.

Ø Seeking the advice and assistance of the charity in the enforcement of this ban.