Fur flies over fashion

2003-08-23 18:31

Cape Town - Animal rights demonstrators waved posters of skinned and bloody mink corpses outside the prestigious Nederberg Fashion Week in Cape Town on Saturday.

About 50 humans, along with two dogs and a goat, mounted the protest under the watchful eye of city police on the pavement outside Cape Town's newly completed International Convention Centre to object to the use of furs in the event.

Among the posters was a large one directed at couturier and convenor of the event Gavin Rajah, asking: "May we skin your children Mr Rajah?" and another urging "For fox sake don't wear fur".

The protest was organised by Beauty Without Cruelty, with support from a number of other animal rights organisations.

National chairperson of Beauty Without Cruelty, Beryl Scott said she had received phones messages of support from as far afield as the United States.

Rajah himself had been very accommodating and "very civil". "But he uses fur," she said. Her organisation had offered him a tour of a fur farm.

One of the protesters holding a poster of a butchered animal, Lejane Hardy, said: "It is sad that people need to do this for vanity purposes. Food is a different story.

"It's terrible to perpetuate cruelty for the sake of vanity. Where does it stop? If we can let this happen, cat and dog fur shouldn't be far behind.

"If we bred leopards specifically to wear their fur the outcry would be horrendous. Why should it be different for mink?"

She said because the market for fashion furs was declining in Europe, the excess was being dumped in South Africa because it was less of an issue here.

Hardy hoped the demonstration would make people think, and inform them so they could "face the facts".

"After looking at this I wouldn't wear fur," she said of her poster.

- SAPA