Animal activists demonstrate against the wearing of fur and leather in Spain

ACTIVISTS from animal protection group AnimaNaturalis demonstrated in Madrid against the use of fur in the textile industry yesterday (Sunday).

Several dozen activists displayed posters with slogans denouncing the use of animals in the fur trade, showing some of the animals abused and killed, fronted by a bloodied model wearing a fur coat.

Those involved wanted to draw the attention of the public to options other than animal skin and fur so that eventually there would be no demand for such clothing.

“The use of leather garments has been mistakenly associated with luxury and fashion and this is the thought that there is to change because if we do not have demand, there will be no offer”, said Belén Molina, Coordinator of AnimaNaturalis in Madrid.

According to the activists, minks, ferrets, foxes, rabbits, seals, otters, cows, chinchillas, and in China even dogs and cats, are examples of the large group of animals that are killed to turn their skins into clothing or fashion accessories.

More than 32 million animals are slaughtered annually just in the European Community alone although since 2007, Austria Croatia, Germany, Sweden, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom have banned the commercial breeding of animals for fur but AnimaNaturalis wants this type of action to be copied by the Spanish government.