[GPCA Updates] NEWS ADVISORY: Greens urge end to holiday fur sales

[Green Party of California Updates]

                  News Advisory
           THE GREEN PARTY OF CALIFORNIA
             http://www.cagreens.org


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, December 5, 2006

Greens urge end to holiday fur sales, charge cruel practice
bad for the environment, animals and Third World
children recruited to kill fur-bearing animals

SAN FRANCISCO (December 5, 2006) – Banning the sale of all animal fur is a
social justice issue that would save the lives of animals, reduce pollution
and end exploitation of workers – many of them children, according to Green
Party activists here in Northern California who are asking holiday shoppers
to shun the product during the holiday season.

The Green Party of California is the only state political party that has a
platform plank specifically calling for an end to animal fur sales. And,
fur traders are increasingly raising their fur in Third World Countries and
hiring children  to slaughter fur-bearing animals, including rabbits, dogs
and cats, according to the Animal Advocacy Working Group of the San
Francisco Green Party.

"We deplore the factory-farm conditions under which animals are raised and
then killed, and we deplore the experience of these exploited children, who
are told that the only way to make a living is by inflicting terrible pain
and violence against other living beings," said Chin Chi of the Greens'
animal advocacy group.

Animals, said Chi, are gassed, have their necks broken and electrocuted so
their fur can be used on coats, lingerie and even fake eyelashes for
actresses. Fur coats are rare, but fur trim has found its way into many
products purchased by unsuspecting consumers.

Although many major retailers have, after decades of battles with anti-fur
activists, reduced or even stopped selling fur, many prominent retailers –
including Bloomingdale's, Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue – continue to
promote fur. 

"Our hope is that other stores will stop their sale of furs and follow the
lead of the fashion retailers of conscience and courage, including J. Crew,
Nordstrom, Ralph Lauren, and Ann Taylor. The continued success of their
businesses will show the world that human beings can ensure and improve
their own material life without hurting other living beings," added Chi.

The San Francisco Green Party was the first organization to endorse a
proposal to ban the sale of fur in San Francisco in 2001. About 2,000
postcards supporting this ban poured into the offices of San Francisco's
supervisors about the time that former SF Supervisor Matt Gonzalez, who
supported and promoted the ban, ran, and narrowly lost, for SF Mayor.