From ‘Fur’ to ‘Fur-Free’: PETA Wants New Name for Local Road

For Immediate Release:
March 13, 2023

Contact:
Robin Goist 202-483-7382

Today, PETA sent a letter to District 2 Supervisor Jerry Poehler asking him to coax people into staying cozy without using animal skins by changing the name of Fur Avenue to Fur-Free Avenue. If Poehler agrees to the name change—whether it lasts a week, a month, or forever—PETA will cover the signage costs and contribute $10 for any resident who experiences a change of heart about wearing fur and donates their fur coat to us. To get a head start on the proposal—and in a win-win for residents and animals alike—the group is sending cruelty-free hats and gloves to the county’s Coats for Kids program.

“Every fur coat, piece of fur trim, or fur trinket comes from minks, foxes, and other animals who endure a violent, painful death,” writes PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “With this simple name change, your constituents wouldn’t be likely to furget how easy it is to stay warm, look fashionable, and be kindhearted this winter by choosing cruelty-free fabrics, like faux fur.”

Animals exploited by the barbaric fur industry spend their entire lives inside cramped cages, where they frantically pace back and forth, gnaw on the bars, and mutilate themselves out of extreme stress caused by intensive confinement. Others are caught in steel traps that slam shut on their legs, often cutting down to the bone, causing excruciating pain and blood loss.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to wear”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org, listen to The PETA Podcast, or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.

PETA’s letter to Poehler follows.

The Honorable Jerry Poehler

District 2 Supervisor

Adams County Board

Dear Mr. Poehler:

I’m writing on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals—PETA entities have more than 9 million members and supporters globally—with a fun and out-of-the-fox suggestion that I mink you’ll find interesting: To encourage people to stay cozy this winter without harming animals, we respectfully request that you change the name of Fur Avenue to Fur-Free Avenue. We’d cover the cost of signage, and to make the deal even cozier, we’d contribute $10 for any resident who has a change of heart and turns in a fur coat to us. Today, we’re sending cruelty-free hats and gloves to Coats for Kids to help those in your community who are in need of a little extra warmth this winter—a win-win situation for residents and animals alike.

PETA’s exposés of fur farms are enough to make any decent person’s blood run cold. Animals kept on fur factory farms spend their entire lives inside cramped cages, frantically pacing back and forth, gnawing on the bars, and mutilating themselves out of extreme stress caused by confinement. They’re finally bludgeoned, electrocuted, gassed, and sometimes even skinned alive. Animals trapped in their natural habitat often suffer for days from blood loss, shock, dehydration, frostbite, gangrene, or attacks by predators before being shot, battered to death, or killed in some other violent manner when a trapper finally returns. You can see why we would appreciate it if you would change the name of the street, as every fur coat, piece of fur trim, or fur trinket comes from minks, foxes, seals, dogs, cats, and other animals who endure a violent, painful death.

The future of fashion is vegan. Almost no one wears fur anymore, there are almost no designers working with it, and as consumer demand for cruelty-free and environmentally friendly goods skyrockets, the clothing industry is working to meet that demand.

Obviously, words matter, and as our understanding of social justice evolves, our language evolves along with it. It’s time to consider the way we talk about animals and switch from emphasizing their use to humans to respecting their self-worth. With this simple name change, your constituents wouldn’t be likely to furget how easy it is to stay warm, look fashionable, and be kindhearted this winter by choosing cruelty-free fabrics, like faux fur. Thank you for your consideration. We look forward to hearing from you.

Very truly yours,

Ingrid Newkirk

President