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Week-long protest staged at Harrods in bid to ban fur
Last updated at 10:52am on 18.12.06
The Coalition to Abolish The Fur Trade campaign aims to shame Harrods into re-thinking its fur policy
Madonna: Sparked a row recently by wearing a £35,000 coat made from 40 chinchillas
Animal rights campaigners begin a week of protests outside Harrods, demanding the store stops selling fur.
The Coalition to Abolish The Fur Trade campaign against the Knightsbridge store comes during one of its busiest trading periods.
It aims to "shame" the store into rethinking its fur policy.
Until Christmas Eve, protesters will hold banners calling for shoppers to boycott Harrods.
Coalition spokesman John Wilson said: "Harrods is the last department store in the whole country that is still selling fur.
"Our main aim is to make them take the compassionate decision to remove fur from their sales.
"Our previous campaigns against stores such as Selfridges have proved successful.
"Throughout the week, we are expecting between 70 and 100 people. There will be a constant presence of protesters during shopping hours.
"We want to name and shame Harrods into going fur-free. Fur production is illegal in this country and rival department stores have fur-free policies so it is also unfair they continue profiting from selling fur."
The group's Christmas Anti-Fur Week is the latest episode in a battle between the anti-fur lobby and the country's most famous department store.
In October last year, protesters began lobbying Harrods after it was announced the store was teaming up with the British Fur Trade Association to launch a new British fur label.
After several protests outside the shop, Harrods went to the High Court to seek an injunction under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997.
Harrods applied to have a no-protest exclusion zone installed around the Knightsbridge store to force protesters on to the opposite side of the road.
The attempt was relatively successful - last year, the store was granted an interim injunction ensuring that no more than three protesters could stand by each of its 12 entrances.
There was also an exclusion zone of five yards around each entrance for all other protesters, which has been marked by a red line since the summer.
Management at Harrods were unavailable for comment. Sales of fur in general are soaring, triggering a growing backlash from campaigners.
Fur clothing sales across the country are up by 30 per cent on 2004. The market is now worth £500million in the UK.
Madonna, 48, sparked a row recently by wearing a £35,000 coat made from 40 chinchillas on a dinner date with her husband Guy Ritchie at Cecconi's restaurant in Mayfair.
Earlier this month, campaign group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals launched an internet campaign against British design house Burberry for using real fur.
Last year, West End department stores Liberty and Selfridges joined Harvey Nichols, Fenwicks, House of Fraser and Debenhams in becoming fur-free following protracted lobbying by protesters.
Reader views (19)
fur belongs on animals not on human beings, and looks absolutely ridiculous when worn on the animal it doesn't belong to. It disgusts me that a fashion item is more valuable and meaningful to those of you who are making feeble attempts to defend the brutal fur industry. Its about time society started respecting the lives of other living animals and treating them responsibly instead of seeing them merely as objects that can be used for their own 'benefit'. As for those of you comparing the use of fur to meat, I recognise their are inhumane farms where animals are not reared or slaughtered in a responsible way, it's almost laughable that you choose this to use as a comparison in an attempt to defend the manufacturing of fur don't you think! Might as well say ted bundy killed dozens of people but that's okay because people die every day.
- Aimee, jersey, 28/12/2011 13:38
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to trev leamimgton spa
Your comments regarding your girlfriend looking good in fur and it's sexy. What the he'll are you talking about. There's nothing sexy about a woman in real fur. The animals suffer greatly to provide fur form the stupid and ignorant people in the world, like your girlfriend. If I saw her in the street I would rip it off her back. Just goes to prove how stupid people are thanks for being o e of them. Animals do not deserve this cruelty. I would stand outsie any shop all day to get my point over. Your obviously a self centred self important person. As long as there's people like you this cruelty will never stop. Read the facts Moron
- Sarah Jane malorey, jersey ci, 28/12/2011 13:23
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These anti fur protesters should not try to impose their idiotic beliefs on other people. If they don't like fur, they shouldn't wear it ! Full stop! What next? Vegetarians protests to ban meat from the shops??? This is ridiculous! A bunch of degenerates that try to meddle with normal people's lives...
- Titus, London, 31/07/2010 23:41
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I'm sorry people, but what these anti-fur supporters are saying is indeed rubbish. They just spout emotional rhetoric, not caring that there are always two sides to an opinion, and that they could be wrong They see things and read about things on sites such as Peta and HSUS, and swallow it all hook line and sinker. Can't they think for themselvers?
Why do they not go to the fur trade websites and believe what they read there? Simply because they don't WANT to believe it. It boils down to personal belief and emotion, and I DON'T want to be preached to by ignorant people. Ignorant not because they are stupid, but because they just haven't bothered to find out the facts. All they want to believe isarethe lies and misdirections from money making extremist organisations that can only exist by sucking in the gullible.
Do these people really believe that customers don't know what they're buying when they pay a fortune for a furcoat? Don'tbe daft. I would challenge anyone to to find a dog fur coat anywhere in Britain, the fur trade justr does not use dog fur, it's coarse, and ugly. You might find it on a Parka hood perhaps, but that's the garment trade you are talking about , not the fur trade.
- Heather, Haslemere, 22/01/2010 00:24
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May i just state that it is not rubbish these people are shouting as there is documented evidence showing the conditions. Also it will happen as society is growing and changing it will move away from the need of fur yes it will take some time but it can be done. Thanks to animal activist movements there has been changes such as the whale hunting ban, fox hunting ban etc... it will take time to make a difference but it can be done. Yes fur is a trade and millions will be out of jobs i feel thats why the government wont do anything at the moment, but why cant they work to perserve the environment? N as many internet sources and documentaries and the BBC news website has stated most of the fur from the coats etc... is dog/ cat fur and the production of the coats have no idea as it goes through on fake names! So good on them for doing this !
- Vicki, kent, 16/12/2009 08:04
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I was in harrods saturday and i see this protest outside and it disturbed me some of the posters that were outside it was sickening, but i did not actually see any fur in here when i was inside!
- Francessca, Essex, UK, 07/12/2009 14:42
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To Larry at Geneva- it is not 'rubbish' that they are shouting, the fur trade is cruel, vile, and torturous and there is absolutely no justification for it. You criticise them for not going to a homeless shelter, do you?? and these people are absolutely brilliant for standing out in the cold all day purely out of compassion for other living beings and not themselves.
don't insult these people for having compassion and not sitting back and letting torture happen. if you dont care about what happens to these animals then shut your mouth and leaving the talking to people who do. i can't believe how people can think a fur coat is worth all the pain, torture and death involved. it represents everything wrong with this world.
- Sarah, chesham, 18/07/2009 21:47
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Trev from Leamington Spa,
skinning an animal alive isnt sexy or classy is horrible and you need to grow up
- Chazz, London, England, 03/02/2009 21:50
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Sorry to be the minority here but Madonna and my girlfriend both wear real fur and they both look beautiful. Its there choice and I support anything they do. Animals are killed for more than just fur but no one protests outside tesco, asda etc too stop selling dead meat.. oh no. Cos thats just right isnt it. Well so is fur, its soft, sexy and very classy so carry on girls, you look brilliant and you flaunt it
- Trev, Leamington Spa, England, 27/12/2008 04:12
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I hope I live to see the day the fur trade is abolished worldwide! It is simply pure vanity and people's desire to display wealth that keeps this henious cruelty based trend alive. I find it disgusting, not "fashionable" to see a dead animals fur on a person. I do not envy those who are able to wear fur. I just feel pity and shame.
- Janet Keleher, Burt, NY USA, 19/12/2006 11:29
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We no longer live in caves, having to rely upon the skins of dead animals to keep out the winter cold. There are so many cruelty-free alternatives to fur, that it is inexcusable to support this abject abuse of animals. Undercover video footage of animals being skinned while still alive, proves the level of cruelty that many animals endure, and would deter any decent person from buying or wearing real fur. However, what does it say about those that still cling unashamedly to their very ugly and offensive wardrobe?
- Garry Sheen, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, 19/12/2006 10:32
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In reply to James, nowhere in this article does it mention anything about intimidation and obnoxious behaviour. Like many you deliberately attack the protestors rather than deal with the issues raised, the same has been true throughout history, from the slave trade, to the suffragettes to civil rights, those calling for change have been vilified by those too lazy to understand change.
- Brendan, London, England, 19/12/2006 10:02
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The anti-fur lobby are intimidating bullies.
- Willstead Ash, London UK, 18/12/2006 19:45
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The Bearded Guardian Reading Brigade strike again. When will the vegan lefties just go back to their commune. If people want to wear fur then let them. I might put on a fur hat and coat and stand outside the Tofu shop and protest.
Free speach is one thing but don't do it like this, James is right.
- Mike, Croydon, 18/12/2006 16:22
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I'm willing to bet that these same people would scream in outrage if abortion were banned; "You have no right to force YOUR morals on US!"
- Sandy, Chicago, 18/12/2006 15:50
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Real fur on anything other than the animal it was meant for is vile. It has nothing to do with money or hating the rich, it is morally wrong and the selling of it should be stopped immediately.
- Shirley, Bromley, 18/12/2006 15:05
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The fact that fur is for sale in the UK is terrible! Fur farming is illegal and therefore the selling of fur should also be banned. I admire those protestors and support them all the way!
- Tristan, Exeter, UK, 18/12/2006 14:35
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Activist minorities think they can impose their views on others through intimidation and generally obnxious behaviour. These same people have come close to terminally damaging key elements of the UK's Pharmaceutical industry, a major UK employer and global leader. These people will not succeed, all that will happen is that the trade will shift to countries where their protests will get rather short shrift. Try doing this in Russia and see what happens to you? By all means express your point of view peacefully, that way more people are likely to listen to the arguments, current tactics merely alienate most people.
- James, London, 18/12/2006 13:08
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Perhaps these people would use their time helping in homeless shelters and soup kitchens before shouting rubbish at rich people from across the road at Harrods.
- Larry, Geneva, 18/12/2006 12:27
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