Photo: David Cliff/NurPhoto via Getty
Soon all fur sold in California will be faux.
According toIn Defense of Animals, California Governor Gavin Newsom signedAssembly Bill 44, a bill banning the production and sale of fur statewide, into law on October 12.
By enacting this bill, California has become the first state to fully outlaw fur sales and production statewide.
“California’s groundbreaking new law sounds the death knell for the sickeningly cruel fur industry and marks a major victory for animals, people, and the environment,” Fleur Dawes, Communications Director for In Defense of Animals, said in a statement.“The enactment of AB 44 reflects the evolving attitudes of compassionate Californians who reject ‘fashion’ made from tortured animals, and paves the way for other states — and ultimately, the world — to go fur-free.”
As Dawes statement reflects, In Defense of Animals and other animal welfare organizations are hopeful that this new ban will be the beginning of the end for the fur industry in the United States, and, eventually, worldwide.
Those who violate this new law after Jan 1. 2023, could face civil and criminal penalties, including up to six months in jail and/or fines up to $1,000.
“The signing of AB 44 underscores the point that today’s consumers simply don’t want wild animals to suffer extreme pain and fear for the sake of fashion. More cities and states are expected to follow California’s lead, and the few brands and retailers that still sell fur will no doubt take a closer look at innovative alternatives that don’t involve animal cruelty,” Kitty Block, CEO and president of the Humane Society of the United States, said in a statement about what the new law means forthe future of fashion.
Animal activists in the U.K. are using the passing of AB 44 to add more fire to their #FurFreeBritian campaign, urging the U.K. to follow in California’s footsteps and become the first country to ban fur. The United Kingdom banned fur farming in the country back in 2000, reportsHumane Society International, but fur is still sold in the country through imports brought in from countries like Finland, Poland and China.
source: people.com
