City of Los Angeles Approves Ban of Fur Starting in 2021
The Los Angeles City Council voted to support an ordinance to ban the sale and manufacture of new fur throughout Los Angeles. The vote makes Los Angeles the largest city in the U.S. to ban new fur products.
The ordinance will take effect on Jan. 1, 2021, and specifically prohibit the sale of products and apparel made in whole or in part of fur or any fashion accessory, such as handbags, shoes, hats, earmuffs and jewelry.
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Earlier last year, San Francisco also banned the sale of fur, and other California cities including West Hollywood and Berkeley have done the same.
Authored by council member Bob Blumenfield, the ‘Fur Ban’ motion in Los Angeles, was co-presented by council member Paul Koretz and seconded by council member Mitch O’Farrell, last year. In September, the City Council supported the drafting of a formal ordinance. Blumenfeld said, “This arcane and inhumane practice must end and today we said loud and clear, fur will not have a future in Los Angeles. I am proud that our city made a giant step in ending the unnecessary killing of animals but we must continue towards finally eliminating this vile market.”
Fur trade supporters did not protest the vote in Los Angeles but “a room full of animal welfare supporters showed up,” according to a spokeswoman for councilman Koretz.
Nancy Daigneault, vice president of the International Fur Federation, said Tuesday that the council “failed to exercise due diligence in consideration of this ban. The motion put forward to the Personnel and Animal Welfare Committee in support of the ban was based on lies and inaccuracies provided in a 2009 HSUS propaganda piece. We provided a detailed eight-page rebuttal to all council member offices but received no follow-up calls, questions or invitations to discuss. (Extremely disappointing.)”
She claimed the ban will force businesses that were completely legal, “some of whom have operated for several generations in Los Angeles and have been significant contributors to local charities and organizations, to close their doors with absolutely no compensation from the city. These people will lose their livelihood. Employees will lose their jobs.”
Daigneault continued, “This was pure pork belly politics and there’s been no outreach nor consideration for compensation to the businesses that have been operating in the city for years.”
Tuesday’s vote in Los Angeles was the latest advancement for animal rights activists who have been making inroads with fashion designers to stop using fur in recent months. Gucci, Versace, Michael Kors and Jimmy Choo have pledged to stop using fur in their collections. More recently, Burberry decided to stop using real fur starting with Riccardo Tisci’s first collection and end its practice of destroying unsalable products with immediate effect.
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