FASHION DESIGNERS GEORGE WU, CARLY HUNTER AND OTHERS BAN ANGORA FUR AFTER VIEWING NEW FOOTAGE FROM PETA ASIA

Investigation Reveals That Fur Is Ripped From Rabbits as They Scream in Pain

For Immediate Release:
21 January 2014

Melbourne – After corresponding with PETA Australia, George Wu and Carly Hunter, in addition to more than two dozen other fashion designers, have confirmed that they are banning any products made with angora. The announcement follows the release of video footage shot by a PETA Asia investigator in China – the source of 90 per cent of the world’s angora fur – that shows that workers violently rip the fur from the bodies of screaming rabbits who have been tied by all four legs and stretched across a board. The investigation was funded primarily by PETA Australia.

“By turning their backs on angora, George Wu and Carly Hunter have done the right thing for animals and consumers”, says PETA Australia Director of Campaigns Jason Baker. “Angora production is barbaric, and PETA Australia urges all retailers and designers who are thinking about their autumn collections to follow the example of George and Carly and show that cruelty to animals has no place in their businesses.”

Designer George Wu notes, “I have a strong belief of zero cruelty in our fashion production by not using animal skins and furs.”

PETA Asia’s investigator visited angora farms in China, where there are no penalties for animal abuse on rabbit farms and no standards that regulate the treatment of animals. The investigator documented rabbits, who are highly sensitive and social animals, lying in shock and isolation inside tiny, filthy wire-bottom cages after having their fur ripped out. This process is repeated every three months for two to five years before their throats are cut and they are replaced with new rabbits who will endure the same fate.

PETA Australia is pleased that more than 30 companies, including Express, Forever 21 and PVH Corp – the parent company of Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, IZOD, ARROW, Van Heusen and other retailers – have permanently halted the production of angora items.

Broadcast-quality video footage and photos are available upon request. For more information, please visit PETA.org.au.

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