FUR IS DEAD. HELP LAY IT TO REST!

My name is Kate and I firmly believe that animals do not belong in fashion. Animals deserve freedom on a fundamental level, and the use of fur and exotic skin in the fashion industry is outdated. In short, fur is dead, and it's our job as compassionate global citizens to lay it to rest. My petition is calling on South Africa to ban the sale and purchase of real fur.

I'm 15 years old and I've been involved in animal rescue since I was 7. My entire life, I've loved all creatures great and small, from spiders, which I would excitedly pick up, much to the delight of my biologist mother and the terror of my father. In my eyes, all animals are equal, and not one of them should be killed for 'fashion', abused in circuses for our 'amusement', or tested on in laboratories for 'beauty'. As a young teenager working in the field of animal welfare, support means everything to me. The fact that I have the opportunity to garner signatures from people I'll probably never meet is unbelievable, and it makes my own life truly worth it to know that other people are hearing what I need to say on behalf of the voiceless. 

Animals on fur farms, which make up 85% of the fur used in the fashion industry, live in misery and die in agony. Foxes, minks, rabbits, chinchillas, lynxes and raccoon dogs (even sometimes dogs and cats, fraudulently marketed as mink) are born and raised in cages, barely big enough for them to turn around in. They live with diseases and viruses that are transferable to humans - COVID-19 has been found in 450+ mink farms around the world, leading to a mass cull - parasites, and constant fear. They are kept in cramped and confined spaces, and are often so psychologically damaged and stressed that they will resort to self-harm, chewing their own limbs. They are then electrocuted, gassed, or beaten to death. They can even be skinned alive.

More than 100 million animals die for their fur every single year... and we call this fashion?

Israel made history in 2021 when they became the first country ever to ban the sale and purchase of fur nationwide. South Africa, my country, should follow suit, and be the second official anti-fur nation in the world. It is so easy to fuel, fund and support the fur industry without even knowing what you're buying; it's not just the fur coats, but the little trinkets and keyrings and alice-bands which are made with fur that we assume is faux but is actually real. If South Africa were to ban the sale and purchase of real fur, we wouldn't have to triple-check every product we buy to make sure it doesn't contain the skin of brutally killed animals. My dream is to change the lives of animals who can't fight for themselves. I've had my own struggles in the past, and saving others has been the only thing that has kept me going.

Our message is clear; “We, The People, will fight to abolish the use of fur in the fashion industry.”

Add your voice to our cause, and be the change for millions of suffering animals.