Using Local

Legislation to
Protect Animals:
Fur Bans

Elizabeth Holtz, J.D.

Campaigns Manager
Using Local Legislation to Protect Animals –
Previous Webinars

aldf.org/circusban aldf.org/retailban
Webinar Roadmap
• Local Legislation Matters
• Where Do Fur Products Come From?
• Animals Exploited
• Fur Farms versus Animals Trapped in the Wild
• Policy Issues
• Animal Cruelty
• Environmental Protection
• Public Health
• Fur in Fashion
• Existing Laws
• Starting a Grassroots Fur Ban Campaign
• Working with Legislators
• Engaging the Community
POLL TIME
Local Legislation Matters
Priming the pump for legislative action at higher levels of government

📷: EcoWatch
https://www.ecowatch.com/california-fur-ban-2640974298.html
Why Focus on Animals Exploited for Their
Fur?
• Animals killed for
their fur suffer
terribly – intensive
confinement,
neglect, painfully
killed
• Public sentiment is
on our side
• Momentum!
📷: The Humane Society of the United States
https://blog.humanesociety.org/2020/07/hsi-undercover-investigation-shows-foxes-
bludgeoned-skinned-alive-on-asian-fur-farms.html
Your City Could Be Next
“I hope that [this] inspires other cities and the country to take action.
Certainly we need better federal regulations on fur farming. There’s no
humane way to raise an animal to peel [his] skin off.”
– San Francisco Supervisor Katy Tang

📷: The Bay City Beacon

https://www.thebaycitybeacon.com/politics/supervisor-s-fur-ban-pits-high-fashion-
against-modern-animal/article_b7f87ec2-0623-11e8-a1b9-57f64f48f5fa.html.html
The Fur Industry

📷: DutchNews.nl
https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2020/06/nearly-600000-mink-killed-in-fur-farm-
coronavirus-cull/
Who Are the Animals Exploited by the Fur
Industry?
• Minks
• Beavers
• Chinchillas
• Foxes
• Raccoons
• Rabbits
• Raccoon Dogs
• Seals
• Dogs and Cats
 Meet the Mink

• Part of the family

Mustelidae, which
also includes
weasels, badgers,
and otters
• Solitary
• Highly territorial
• Aquatic
• Lives in dens or
hollow logs
 Fur Farms Versus Animals Trapped in the
Wild Animals killed for their
fur come from two
sources:
• Fur farms where they
are intentionally bred
and confined
• Wisconsin – nation’s
largest producer of mink
pelts with 67 fur farms/1.5
million pelts produced
annually

📷: Sentient Media, Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals

• Animals trapped in
https://sentientmedia.org/dutch-parliament-votes-to-close-mink-fur-farms-following-
covid-19-outbreaks/
the wild
Animals Trapped in the Wild
• Largely regulated at the
state level
• California is the only
state to have banned
commercial and
recreational trapping
• In some states, legal to set
a trap and not check it for
days
• Trappers shoot, strangle,
drown, and bludgeon
📷: Los Angeles Times
trapped animals https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-09-04/fur-trapping-ban-california-law
Animals in Fur Farms
• Minks
• Rabbits
• Chinchillas
• Raccoon dogs
(Asiatic Raccoons)
• Foxes
~100 million animals
killed annually 📷: Fur Free Alliance
https://www.furfreealliance.com/croatian-meps-fur-farming/
Policy Issues in Fur Farming
• Animal Cruelty
• Public Health
• Environmental Protection
 Animal Cruelty – Life on a Fur Farm

• Tiny, filthy wire-

mesh cages
• No protection from
heat, cold, or rain
• Sometimes held in
barns/sheds where
ammonia builds up
and burns their
eyes and throats
📷: Sentient Media, Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals
https://sentientmedia.org/fur-farming/
 Animal Cruelty – Life on a Fur Farm
Animals are
deprived of the
ability to engage in
any of their natural
behaviors

As a result, self-mutilation,
repetitive behavior,
cannibalism, and infanticide
are common 📷: Oikeutta Elaimille
https://www.flickr.com/photos/oikeuttaelaimille/
 Animal Cruelty – Death on a Fur Farm

• Killed via suffocation,

electrocution,
gassing, or poisoning

• Frequently skinned
alive while still
conscious and
without any
painkillers
Public Health

Fur farms are breeding

grounds for zoonotic disease
— a disease caused by a
pathogen that has jumped
from animals to humans

Poor sanitation + intensive

confinement + stressed
animals = disease
Public Health: Fur Farming and COVID-19
Public Health: Fur Farming and COVID-19
Public Health: Fur Farming and Zoonotic
Disease
“[And] there’s fur farming, usually raccoon dogs. If you see people
with fur trim around these nice ski jackets, it’s probably come from
a Chinese fur farm. There's a sort of irony to it – you see wealthy
people in the West, with a bit of fur trim, saying: ‘It’s disgusting,
these wet markets in China.’
Consumption in the West drives a lot of the problems behind
infectious diseases.”

– Dr. Peter Daszak, president of EcoHealth Alliance and the “world’s

most famous virus hunter”
 Environmental Impacts of Fur
Fur production involves
numerous toxic chemicals +
heavy metals including
carcinogens like chromium
and formaldehyde…

…which leach into the

environment, harm workers,
and may be absorbed
through the skin of people 📷: Eco Warrior Princess
who wear fur https://ecowarriorprincess.net/2020/04/mink-dutch-fur-farm-confirmed-with-coronavirus-
fur-farming-bans//
Environmental Impacts of Fur

Farms create
tremendous
amounts of waste
that contaminate
the soil and
waterways and
contribute to
climate change 📷: PETA UK
https://www.peta.org.uk/blog/one-more-reason-to-ditch-fur-the-environment/
Environmental Impacts of Fur

📷: The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/mar/21/eco-friendly-fur-ad-banned
 Fur in Fashion

“Fur? I’m out of that. I

don’t want to kill
animals to make
fashion. It doesn’t feel
right.”
– Donatella Versace
📷: Vogue
https://www.vogue.com/article/donatella-versace-fur
Fur in Fashion

Approximately 300 brands

and retailers have adopted
fur-free policies including:
Macy’s, Coach, Chanel,
Burberry, Michael Kors,
Armani, Bloomingdale’s,
Gucci, and Prada

📷: People
https://people.com/style/fur-free-luxury-fashion-brands/
Existing Laws
Which cities, states, and countries have laws regarding fur sales or
fur farming?
• International
• Local
• State
POLL TIME
Fur Farming Internationally

Mink Pelts Produced Annually

o China – 35 million
o Denmark – 17.8 million
o Poland – 8.5 million
o Netherlands – 5.5. million
o USA – 2.7 million
o Wisconsin, Utah, Idaho,
Oregon, Minnesota
o Finland – 2.5 million
International Laws

Countries with Fur Farming Bans

Include:
o The U.K.
o Serbia
o Luxembourg
o Germany
o Czech Republic
o Croatia
o Belgium (2023)
o Norway (2025)
o Slovakia (2025)
International Laws
Additionally:
o Switzerland and Sweden
have such strict welfare
regulations that fur
farming is essentially
outlawed
o India banned the
importation of fur in 2017
o São Paolo, Brazil banned
the import and sale of fur
in 2015
Fur Sale Bans – What Are They?

• Fur sale bans concern the sale

of fur, NOT the use of fur
• Typically prohibit the sale
of new fur products like
coats and hats. These
bans often extend to
accessories that have fur
adornments like pom
poms or collars, as well as
home décor.
What Cities Have Fur Sale Bans?
West Hollywood – 2011

Berkeley – 2017

San Francisco – 2018

Los Angeles – 2019

CALIFORNIA
2019
San Francisco Fur Ban Challenged in
Court…And Upheld
California Bans the Sale of Fur!
The law:
o Bans the sale of new clothing
and accessories (like bags and
key chains) that are made of fur
or have fur pieces (like a fur pom
pom)
o Fur is defined as “animal skin or
part thereof with hair, fleece, or
fur fibers attached thereto.”
Essentially this means animals
like chinchillas and mink, the
animals we traditionally
associate with fur products. It
does not apply to items like
cowhide or sheepskin.
📷: The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/14/style/fur-ban-california.html
Exceptions to the California Law

There are exceptions for:

1. Used fur products
2. Fur products used for
religious purposes (an
example would be the
fur hats worn by Hasidic
Jews)
3. Fur products used for
cultural purposes by a
Native American tribe
How to Pass an Ordinance – Fur Bans

Hope Realism Determination

POLL TIME
How to Pass an Ordinance – Fur Bans

• Coalition
Building
• Working with
Legislators
• Engaging the
Community
Coalition Building
A group of individuals and
organizations with an agreed-
upon purpose, working to
influence a specific target

Who could be in your coalition?

• State and national animal
protection groups
• Animal rescues and
shelters
• Faith-based groups
• Environmental protection
groups
• Local fashion groups
Working with Legislators - Meetings
• Email the
councilmember to set
up a meeting with
them or a staff
member

• Bring supporting
documents, including
your FAQs + factsheet,
as well as a copy of
the California and San
Francisco laws
Working with Legislators – FAQs + Factsheets

aldf.org/furban
 Engaging the Community – Action Alerts
• Make it as short as possible
• Explain the issue in two
sentences
• Tell people what to do (call
or email their city legislators)

• Make it easy
• Include contact information
for legislators + sample
language for people to use

• Residents Only
Engaging the Community - Testimony

• 2 to 3 minutes

• Introduce yourself

• Be concise and use your

strongest arguments

• Encourage other
community members and
community leaders to
testify
Thank You!

Elizabeth Holtz, J.D.

Campaigns Manager
eholtz@aldf.org