USA: A PETITION TO HAVE FUR PRODUCTS TAGGED WITH A LABEL GIVING INFORMATION ABOUT HOW THE ANIMAL DIED CAUSES AN UPROAR IN BEVERLY HILLS

Record ID: 646458

  • Title: USA: A PETITION TO HAVE FUR PRODUCTS TAGGED WITH A LABEL GIVING INFORMATION ABOUT HOW THE ANIMAL DIED CAUSES AN UPROAR IN BEVERLY HILLS
  • Date: 5th February 1999
  • Summary: BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (FEBRUARY 4, 1999) 1. SV EXTERIOR SOMPER FURS, BEVERLY HILLS 0.06 2. SV WOMAN TRYING ON FUR COAT 0.16 3. MCU (English) KEITH KAPLAN, PRESIDENT, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA FUR ASSOCIATION "Seventy percent of the fur sold in most salons in the United States is mink. For example, the recommended method at the state and the federal and the international level for dealing with mink, both ranch and wild is lethal injection or CO2 (gas). The label mentions neither of these. So how accurate is it to have a label that has a litany of potential methods of euthanasia that says this animal may have been when none of those particular methods apply to the garment that it appears on." 0.52 4. MCU (ENGLISH) LUKE MONTGOMERY, BEVERLY HILLS CONSUMERS FOR INFORMED CHOICES SAYING "Unfortunately that's not true. The people who actually farm and produce the furs recommend methods like electrocution, neck-braking, clubbing, very different from putting a dog or a cat to sleep. So we feel that consumers should have the right to know and be able to make their own decisions about this." 1.09 5. SV/CU VOLUNTEERS STUFFING ENVELOPS FOR BEVERLY HILLS CONSUMER FOR INFORMED CHOICES (2 SHOTS) 1.17 6. SV PROPOSED LABEL FOR FUR PRODUCTS 1.20 7. CU PROPOSED LABEL FOR FUR PRODUCTS ON COAT OFFERED FOR SALE TO RAISE MONEY FOR THE CAMPAIGN 1.26 8. MCU (ENGLISH) MARY BRYANT saying "I don't think I would buy a fur coat, not a real fur, because of that, I think that's cruelty to animals" 1.35 9. MCU (ENGLISH) MELODIE saying "I don't think I'd really buy a fur coat in the first place, but I don't think a label would change my decision about buying a coat" 1.46 10. MCU (ENGLISH) BRENDA saying "It would put me off, not that I would buy fur, I would buy fun fur, but not a genuine fur coat" 1.54 11. MCU (ENGLISH) (NO NAME) "I think it's a great idea, it just gives them more data so they can make a decision" 1.57 12. SV PICTURES ON WALL OF CELEBRITIES WEARING SOMPER FURS 2.00 13. SV RUSSIAN SABLE WITH 18CT GOLD LINING (MOST EXPENSIVE COAT IN THE WORLD AND ONE OF A KIND WORTH 100,000 (USD) 2.07 14. MCU (ENGLISH) KEITH KAPLAN SAYING "With over two hundred designers working in fur today, everyone from Versace and Prada to Dolce and Gabbana, you're talking about virtually every retailer on Rodeo Drive. You're talking about Sacks and Neiman's and Barneys. You're talking about a significant number of the retailers in Beverly Hills which is an international fashion shopping destination." 2.26 15. MCU (ENGLISH) LUKE MONTGOMERY saying "We don't want this to be a big billboard saying don't buy fur we want this to be calm and honest and the facts about the product and let the consumer make up their own mind." 2.35 16. SV WOMAN TRYING ON THE 100 THOUSAND DOLLAR FUR 2.53 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 20th February 1999 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
  • City:
  • Country: USA
  • Reuters ID: LVABZUF7991AENAKAZKNKDWO2V8K
  • Story Text: A petition to have fur products tagged with a label
    giving detailed information about how the animal died has
    caused an uproar in Beverly Hills.If the motion goes ahead,
    it won't be just the fur industry that's affected, top
    designers who use fur trim will also have to display the new
    label.

    The furor over fur coats has been rumbling on for
    years.But this time its not about actually selling the
    products, its about human awareness and fraud according to an
    organization called The Beverly Hills Consumers For Informed Choices.

    After a friend was told in a fur shop that all animals
    used in the industry were killed using humane methods, the
    organization decided to conduct an undercover investigation of
    their own.The results of that investigation were captured on
    videotape and Luke Montgomery used his findings to persuade
    Beverly Hills residents to help change the law.3,367
    signatures were gathered in support of Montgomery's plan to
    have a label attached to each and every fur product valued
    above $50 (US$) outlining the POSSIBLE methods used to kill
    the animals used.

    Keith KAPLAN, President of Southern California Fur
    Association and spokesperson for Somper Furs insists that "the
    recommended method used both nationally and internationally
    for mink in particular is lethal injection or gas and a label
    that says other than that is less than accurate"
    But Luke Montgomery says "that's not true, and the people
    who farm and produce the furs themselves recommend
    electrocution, neck-braking and clubbing" and is adamant that
    consumers have a right to know what really happens.

    Shoppers in Rodeo Drive, where the the rich and famous do
    their shopping gave a mixed reaction to the prospect of having
    a descriptive label.Most "wouldn't buy real fur in the first
    place", but if set out specifically to buy a fur, "it would
    take more than a label to change their mind"
    Rodeo Drive shops will be hit hard if the motion is
    carried on May 11."Prada, Dolce & Gabbana and Versace all
    have shops here and the recent trend for fur trimming would
    force all of them to re-label their wares.
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