"Ah no I don't want to see that, anyway I don't buy fur". Wool jacket on the back, canvas bag on the side, this Parisian hurries ahead of the giant raccoon clad with a sign "Fur torture", looking away from the video screen installed on Place Saint-Michel (Paris Ve) , a few steps from the boulevard dotted with ready-to-wear brands. These are the targets of the activists of Fourrure Torture, who for years have denounced the intensive breeding of fur animals, and the underside of an industry that France continues to authorize.
"Buyers must not be complicit in this animal exploitation"
On the occasion of the "Fur Free Day", launched in 2007 to "Make a mark, show the reality of farms and raise awareness among potential buyers of clothing containing fur", right at the time of the sales, activists of Fourrure Torture chose the shock of images: bloody photos and, broadcast in a loop, a video of live butchering of raccoons and coyotes.
"Still too many people are unaware that fur is sold at a very affordable price, sometimes cheaper than synthetic fur in the form of a down collar, accessories," underlines Olivier Rafin, coordinator of the fur free day. "Buyers must be vigilant and must not be complicit in this animal exploitation".
In thirteen years, the movement and the general “awareness” of animal suffering has nevertheless advanced the cause: fifteen European countries have already legislated and radically prohibited the breeding of fur animals, and the United States put with California, the first state to take the plunge in 2019. But not France. "Not yet," want to believe the activists of Fourrure Torture, encouraged by the engagement of fashion designers and certain brands.
350,000 signatures of support
"After Jean-Paul Gaultier in 2018, the house of Karl Lagerfeld has just announced its renunciation of animal fur in its collections, such as Ralph Lauren, Armani, Versace, Gucci, Stella McCartney ... More and more designers are getting involved, however, they greatly influence ready-to-wear stores, ”notes Olivier Rafin.
Another relative progress that gives hope for "a forthcoming ban law", France now has "only" five mink farms, instead of twenty ten years ago. "We are moving forward," say activists of Fourrure Torture, whose permanent petition brings together more than 350,000 supporters, against the sacrifice of "more than 65 million animals each year worldwide, only for their fur".
