The Sparrow Project has reported that Last Chance for Animals (LCA) linked their investigative footage with top designers Marc Jacobs, Diane Von Furstenberg, Burberry, Dior, Armani, Yves Saint Laurent and Louis Vuitton.
Conditions on the farms included:
- Farm workers callously bashing sick rabbits to death
- Crippled, diseased and severely wounded rabbits left to suffer with no medical treatment
- Rabbits forced to live in small, crowded cages with hard metal bars for floors
- Rabbits clubbed in the head or smashed into the ground, then strung up and skinned
- Rabbits only allowed to live 2 years, whereas they naturally live up to 12 years
Popular fashion blog The Discerning Brute followed up this story, reporting on the reactions – primarily denials – from some designers named by LCA.
“It’s not surprising that these designers are denying and distancing themselves from the activities caught on camera of farm workers bashing sick rabbits to death, crippled, diseased and severely wounded rabbits left to sufferin small, crowded cages with hard metal bars for floors with no medical treatment, or rabbits being bludgeoned to death or slammed to the floor before being skinned. Who would dare claim financial support of such callousness? But denial only goes so far. Surely these large suppliers are selling to someone. And where there is big business, there is a paper-trail. It’s only a matter of time before those doing (or having done) business with them are confirmed.”
Joshua Katcher, author of that blog and an adjunct professor of fashion, raises what is perhaps the most important point: someone is buying these furs, perpetuating this industry of cruelty.
And that leads to our message – don’t buy fur. Fake, real, ethical or whatever. Any fur gives the impression that fur, in all its forms, is acceptable. The fastest way to end this cruelty is also the easiest: go fur-free today.
