On Thursday, Thanksgiving will be celebrated all over the US. The day after Thanksgiving is known as Fur Free Friday, a day in which animal lovers all over the world educate holiday shoppers about the fur and leather industries. According to PETA, the fur industry kills 50 million animals a year and the leather industry takes the lives of more than a billion animals.
Read more about the origins of Fur Free Friday here.
It is widely known that buying and wearing real animal fur supports and contributes to an industry causing immense suffering to animals, however, I don’t think that as many people realise that wearing real leather is the same thing. There are many different types of leather (which you can read about here) most leather comes from cattle skin but other animals affected are lambs, deers, elks, pigs, buffalos, goats, alligators, dogs, snakes, ostriches, kangaroos, oxen, yaks and even sting rays.
This Fur Free Friday, make it your mission to educate people about the suffering caused by the fur and leather industry. Advise fashion conscious friends and relatives to consider faux fur and leather instead. If you would like to hold an event or join an event check out PETA's Fur Free Friday site which includes some comprehensive campaign advice.
If you are unable to attend an event then please spread the word in any way you can, tag #FurFreeFriday on Twitter to help it become a trending topic and also spread the word on Facebook by updating your status telling your friends it is Fur Free Friday or sharing this post with them. How about texting a friend in the morning wishing them a “Happy Fur Free Friday” so that they ask you what it means?
Happy Thanksgiving to you all, I am thankful for each and every one of you out there and your dedication to animals.
