City of Los Angeles votes to ban fur; Humane Society steps up pressure on UK Government

The Los Angeles City Council has just voted unanimously to ban the sale of fur within city limits, making it the largest American city to do so since San Francisco, which passed a similar ban earlier this year.

On the back of the news, which broke on the final day of the first ever fur-free London Fashion Week, the Humane Society International (HSI) has stepped up its pressure on the UK Government to implement a ban on fur imports.

Claire Bass, HSI UK's Executive Director will write to the British government urging Prime Minister Theresa May to follow LA's ethical lead.

“A cruel product like fur has no place in the City of Angels, and we applaud the Los Angeles City council for taking a moral stand. Now it is time for the UK government to show equal compassion and listen to the vast majority of British people who want the UK to become the first country in the world to fully ban the sale of animal fur," said Bass.

"Our government has stated its ambition for the UK to be ‘a world leader in animal welfare’, blazing a trail as the first country to outlaw the cruel and unnecessary fur trade would show that this ambition will be delivered with actions, not just words. The sale of cat, dog and seal fur is already banned here so now let’s finish the job and ban fur full stop,” Bass added.

Fur farms have been banned in the UK since 2000 and certain animal skins such as domestic cat and dog and seal fur are also banned. Earlier this year MPs held a landmark debate on a potential ban of all fur imports, which drew widespread support from all parties, however so far the Government has declined to take any further action on the matter.

The HSI's #FurFreeBritain has been gaining momentum and within fashion a number of high profile brands and designers have pledged to purge real fur from their collections including Gucci, Michael Kors, Versace, John Galliano, DKNY and, most recently, Burberry. Yoox Net-A-Porter has banned the sale of fur across all of its platforms. For this first time since London Fashion Week was founded 35 years ago, no on-schedule designer showed fur on the catwalk.

A number of US cities now have a ban on the sale of fur. In addition to San Francisco and now Los Angeles, Berkeley banned fur last year, and West Hollywood did so in 2013.

PJ Smith Senior Manager of Fashion Policy for the Humane Society International’s US affiliate said: “Today is a great day for fur-bearing animals. Los Angeles’ decision to ban fur sales, along with recent fur-free announcements from well-known fashion brands and retailers – including Burberry, Gucci, Versace and Net-a-Porter – should make it clear that the future of fashion is fur-free. Not only is LA now the largest city in America to go fur-free, but with this fur ban, it has become a leader in innovation and compassion.”