Organizations Fighting Against the Fur Trade
Organizations Fighting Against the Fur Trade
Every year, well over a billion fur-bearing animals are ruthlessly tortured and murdered on fur farms—or are brutally and cruelly trapped in the wild for their fur and skin. In addition to wild animals, domesticated animals including cats and dogs (stolen and raised in China) are likewise exploited for fur, meat and leather in Asian countries. Some of these products make their way to European and American markets where they are prohibited or banned. They are deceptively mislabeled as faux fur clothing using real animal fur, and animal skins are falsely marketed as cow leather to unsuspecting customers. Fur belongs on animals—not people.
The following organizations advocate against fur and actively campaign, lobby, legislate and fight against the brutal cruelty of the fur trade.
Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade (CAFT) – The Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade started in 1990 in the U.K., as a grass-roots organization run entirely by donations and volunteers to fight the fur trade. Through investigations, education, campaigns and demonstrations they have exposed the cruelty of the fur trade and helped establish and continue many anti-fur actions across Britain. CAFT has filmed undercover on fur farms, lobbied for bans on fur farming, and persuaded countless shops to stop selling real fur. They also work with anti-fur groups around the world.
Fur For Animals (Respect For Animals) – Fur For Animals is led by the nonprofit Respect for Animals, which promoted the successful campaign that saw fur farming banned throughout the United Kingdom. Respect for Animals campaigns against the cruel and unnecessary fur trade internationally, supported by the belief that fur farming and trapping is morally indefensible. Respect for Animals launched in 1993, and uses creative advertising, media and political campaigns to influence consumers against buying and wearing fur; to lobby for legislation to make fur sales illegal; and to legislate fur trapping and fur farm bans.
Fur Free Alliance (FFA) – The Fur Free Alliance is an international coalition of more than 40 animal protection organizations working together to end the exploitation and the killing of animals for fur. FFA focuses on the cruelty suffered by fur-bearing animals in industrial fur farming and through cruel trapping in the wild. FFA achieves their mission through public awareness campaigns, legislative actions, and in-depth investigations, by targeting consumers and the fashion industry to encourage available alternatives, and by working nationally and internationally through joint and individual campaigns. Read the latest news, the latest fur bans, and the latest retailers to ban fur.
Fur Free Society – The Fur Free Society is a U.S. nonprofit launched in 2004, comprising of a global alliance of dedicated volunteers whose primary goal is to bring an end to the inhumane treatment of fur bearing animals worldwide. The Fur Free Society’s goal is achieved through educating people around the globe regarding the inherent cruelty of the fur trade, employing a diverse range of methods and strategies including: lobbying Congress to enact laws designed to protect all fur bearing animals from exploitation on fur farms and in the wild; encouraging individuals to make conscientious cruelty-free decisions; collaborating with animal rights groups worldwide to unite the compassionate majority; and assisting Chinese animal rights groups to reduce stray cat and dog populations through spaying/neutering to reduce their victimization that is often transferred to the meat and fur trade. Read about ways you can take action.
Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) – HSUS is an American nonprofit organization that focuses on animal welfare and opposes animal-related cruelties of national scope. One major issue for the HSUS has been to end fur cruelty. With affiliate Humane Society International, HSUS has waged a decade-long war to end the Canadian Seal Hunt. Through numerous investigations at the retail level, HSUS was a leader in revealing how real fur was being sold as “faux fur” on labels. HSUS works with retailers to stop selling fur and works with designers and brands to stop using fur in fashion. HSUS supports city-wide and state wide fur bans and has been instrumental in achieving them. HSUS publishes the Humane Shopping Guide.
In Defense of Animals (IDA) – IDA is an international animal protection organization defending animals from abuse and exploitation through education; campaigns to change laws and human behavior; advocating for animal rights, welfare and protection; and hands-on animal rescue providing forever care in animal sanctuaries. IDA runs an active campaign to end the fur industry and fur farming, to raise awareness about the cruelty of fur, and how to take action to stop fur sales.
International Anti Fur Coalition (IAFC) – The International Anti-Fur Coalition (IAFC) was founded in 2006, consisting of over 50 Anti-Fur organizations worldwide that are working together to bring an end to the horror of the fur industry. IAFC is an animal rights movement focusing on the atrocities of the fur trade. They organize “Global Days of Action” including demonstrations, marches, protests, and “Information Days” held regularly all over the world.
PETA (People For the Ethical Treatment of Animals) – Founded in 1990 by Ingrid Newkirk, PETA is an animal rights organization that focuses on national and international issues. With their “animals are not ours to wear” campaign, PETA has long fought and been an effective force against stopping cruel fur farms, fur trapping, fur clothing and the fur trade. PETA has produced numerous informative videos educating the public on fur, including the educational The Fur Industry in 60 Seconds Flat. The group stages anti-fur events to publicize its opposition to fur, and has been involved in numerous undercover investigations on fur farms in China and elsewhere revealing the cruelty of fur to the general public.
The Fur-Bearers (The Association for the Protection of Fur-Bearing Animals) – The Fur Bearers is a registered nonprofit organization founded in 1953 established to end the commercial fur trade and promotes co-existence with wildlife. The Fur Bearers mission is “to protect fur-bearing animals in the wild and in confinement through conservation, advocacy, research and education (C.A.R.E).” They achieve their mission through abolishing the commercial fur trade—both trapping and on fur farms; creating opportunities to co-exist with wildlife; and by fostering compassion and empathy for wildlife and the environment through community outreach.
