The Minneapolis City Council has the authority to ban the sale and manufacture of new fur products within our great city.

Fur Free Minneapolis and other advocates are urging the Minneapolis City Council to pass an ordinance that bans the sale of new fur products within the city.

The fur trade is a brutal industry where millions of animals such as foxes, minks, rabbits, dogs, cats, raccoons, and chinchillas are killed every year. Most of these animals are raised on fur farms, where they are confined to a life of misery in cages that are barely bigger than their bodies. They live through intense stress and engage in psychotic behaviors like repetitive pacing, self-mutilation and cannibalism. These animals endure this life only to be killed in some of the most inhumane ways. They are electrocuted and stunned, and some are still alive as they are beaten and skinned. They are submitted to this suffering solely for the sake of their fur.

Fur farms pollute our water systems with phosphorus, causing algae to grow faster than ecosystems can handle, which in turns leads to the death of fish and plants and reduces the use of the water for human purposes such as consumption and swimming. Fur farms also use at least four times the amount of resources (water and feed) as farms producing plant-based fabrics. In this day of countless eco and animal-friendly fabrics, there is no need for this violent industry.

Violence towards animals is NOT good style. Major fashion brands are stopping their use of fur: Prada, Giorgio Armani, HUGO BOSS, Michael Kors, Gucci, and hundreds of others.

West Hollywood (2011), Berkeley (2017), San Francisco (2018), and Los Angeles (2018) have already passed ordinances banning  the sale of fur products These bans have been successfully defended in court. Fourteen countries in Europe have banned fur production entirely.

The fur industry tricks buyers. Investigations by the Humane Society of the United States have shown that products are often mislabeled as imitation fur when in fact the fur is real. Consumers deserve to know the truth about what they are buying. Some reports have even shown that some fur products are made from dog and cat fur from China and other countries that do not have protections for these animals like the United States of America does.

The fur industry thrives on violence, is motivated by profit, and regularly misinforms the public. This measure is life changing, saving thousands of animals from a life of brutality and setting an example of compassion for the rest of the country and the world to follow. There is no need for this brutal and cruel industry, and Minneapolis should not support it by allowing the sale of fur products within the city. The City Council must act to protect our health and our environment and create a more humane ethos within our city. The Council must pass this ordinance.

Show your support for this ordinance by signing this petition.

Note: When you submit this you'll get a pop-up asking for a donation. That donation does not go directly to the Fur Free Minneapolis campaign. It goes to Change.org to promote this petition.