On today’s Stop Animal Cruelty, the second in a three part series, we feature further excerpts from the award-winning documentary “Skin Trade.” which reveals the horrendous truth about the fur industry.

The film’s important message is bolstered by the appearance of an array of prominent fashion designers, celebrities and government dignitaries in the documentary. They include, among others, US Congressman Dennis Kucinich, Academy Award-nominated vegan actor James Cromwell, and four-time US National Basketball Association champion and vegan John Salley.

Skin Trade was directed by Shannon Keith, a vegan animal rights attorney from the US and founder of the non-profit animal welfare organization Animal Rescue, Media & Education. Ms. Keith represents animal rights activists and organizations. Her clientele include: SHARK (Showing Animals Respect and Kindness), the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and others.

She is also the founder of Uncaged Films, a film production company that released the award- winning documentary “Behind the Mask”, a history of the animal liberation movement in 2006, and “Skin Trade” in 2010.

Fur is one of those things that there is just no argument for. Fur for vanity, that’s ridiculous. It should be gone and over with it by now I made “Skin Trade” so that people can see what goes on, how animals are killed for fur and how they can make a change and stop the brutal fur and fashion industries. We now present more excerpts from “Skin Trade.”

One of the most common misconceptions we hear when we’re out in front of stores, educating the public about animals killed for fur, is this idea that animals are euthanized; that there’s not a lot of suffering involved.

I just assume that it grows its hair back and it’s all Okay at the end of the situation.

That’s what you assume?

I am assuming that.

Well, have I got a surprise for you.

Take up the knife again, but I am going to do some pulling. Put my fingers through the leg holes, front leg holes and start pulling. I get those ears to come out like that right there. You can see the ear here.

They imagine that these animals are killed in the same way that their pets might be put to sleep, when a pet is very ill, that they’re simply given a shot, and they go to sleep, and it’s a relatively painless existence.

So we get this, I am safe to go home and tell my mom.

Yes. She can come to talk to me.

It’s not cruel; they’re not breaking necks or

No, no, no. stomping on them. (No, that’s cruel.) (No, no, no.)

Do they break the animals’ necks on the fur farm?

No, no. I mean, these animals have very sharp teeth, very sharp nails, they wouldn’t do it.

You are not going to get your mouth on me, little girl, sorry.

If they break their necks it would damage the fur.

No breaking of the necks.

Do they break the necks of the animals to kill them? (No, No) Have they ever done that?

No, because it can ruin the fur too if they do that.

This prompted this initiative in Beverly Hills (USA) to put on every single fur coat, and every fur product; this animal was killed by gassing, trapping, and genital electrocution.

Fashion

I don’t think fur is fashionable at all. I think it’s hideous.

To be honest, I think it looks very dated. I don’t know why you would want to wear that look.

It is complete cruelty. You just… There’s nothing fashionable, beautiful, nothing, about cruelty!

To me it just seemed wrong to kill something for vanity. And that’s what fur is about in modern times, it’s not about staying warm.

My wife was my girl friend at that time. I bought her this big fur coat, got pictures in it, and she was like, “Wow, look at that fur.” I go, “all this time you spend not looking fat, then you put a fur on, and you look like the animal.” And I said, “That makes no sense.” “Oh, but I’m warm.” I go, “You’re warm without fur.” And we got rid of it, we got out of it.

If I’m walking down the street, and I see somebody wearing fur, I immediately look at them in disgust. It doesn’t look good to me. It doesn’t look cool. I just think like, “Wow, what kind of human being wears fur?”

It’s all about power. And wearing a fur garment says that you have power, literally over the animal that the coat is made out of, and over the rest of the people that potentially can’t afford to buy what you have.

The fur business is really a form of kidnapping, controlling, it’s a control issue.

Because it is theft. I don’t care what you call it, it is theft. And when you look at it that way, then people have to make a moral choice.

It has really more to do with the psychology of the person wearing it than any sort of reality and in terms of need or necessity.

When I started this clothing line, I mean first it was like a hip hop line. And then I made it more mainstream American style, as I call it mid-America style, and then I started realizing we didn’t really need leather, we also didn’t need fur.

As consumers, we are the most powerful block against the fur trade.

It’s really important to have that affirmation that if you are anti-fur for ethical reasons, you’re not crazy. Like this is a legitimate thing that’s happening, and it’s a terrible thing that’s happening, and it has to be stopped. And it won’t be stopped until these people who create the demand for garments really take a stand on it.

Stop Animal Cruelty will return after this brief message. Please stay tuned to Supreme Master Television. This is the Stop Animal Cruelty series on Supreme Master Television, featuring excerpts from Shannon Keith’s documentary “Skin Trade.” We now continue with more from this award-winning film.

If you know what is behind an animal fur coat, you will want no part of it.

Well, of course one of my favorite fashion designers was Todd Oldham because I knew that he never would design with fur.

I never wanted to involve animals in what I do with design and then, I personally don’t wear leather or any animal products.

He’s a perfect example of somebody who could convey incredible glamour and luxury and elegance in women’s clothing without a scrap of cruelty involved.

The more I became aware of it, the more I was able to right my life for what is meaningful for me and it feels really nice to know, I’m not harming other critters.

People, I bet wouldn’t even be able to tell the difference. So when you have that as an option it makes even more absurd to go the poor, sad, dead animal route.

You don’t have to have that dead animal to make you look better. You can have this fabric to make you look better.

If you tell somebody I think you’re cute but you just wasted US$7,000 on something that is not cute. It was cute before it got on your back. That mink is a cute little animal, that fox is beautiful, on the fox, on the mink.

This is a great example of the technology that exists today in fake fur. This fabric is fluid enough to ruffle and be very beautiful at the same time to be a really nice, soft coat and has a great touch, it’s imitating a sheared mink.

Lab tests have shown that animal fur and fake fur, if they have the same length of pile, they have the same R-value, or they retain heat at the same rate. So no that’s not true, fake fur can be just as warm as animal fur.

There are some wonderful designers out there who set a good example, who would never use fur in their collections.

I believe that people can do well by doing good.

From Marc Bouwer, whose designs are phenomenal.

Technology today has advanced to such incredible levels that there is no need for cruel fashion. Fashion is painful enough as it is without having animals killed needlessly for the sake of vanity.

As are Stella McCartney’s, Polo Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, Todd Oldham: Wonderful, wonderful people who care about animals and care about fashion.

My point of view did cause problems for me in the industry. I wouldn’t have changed anything because I would’ve felt much worse if I was doing furs or involving myself in these cruelty pipelines at the expense of being accepted by a magazine editor. I mean that would be… well you’d be nothing if you chose something like that.

In the case of Ralph Lauren, I think they absolutely thought they were not going to give up fur ever. And when our office sat down with them and showed them the footage that they didn’t want to see, then Ralph Lauren’s people said, “Alright we can’t be party to this.” And the same was true with Calvin Klein. Calvin Klein came close to tears when we actually got him to see the footage of the animals, strangling the animals, drowning.

Right now Overstock.com is completely fur-free. When we’re offered fur products we pass.

Let’s cancel every order we can cancel.

We’ve let all of our venders know that Overstock.com does not sell fur in any way, shape or form.

To support that is a message that every consumer can give to the fur trade saying, “Hey, you know what people can make money by not selling fur.”

Well, they’re also now with raccoons. There’s too many raccoons, they’re running rabid. (Really) Two quarters of the raccoons in New Jersey (USA) and Pennsylvania (USA) are rabid.

Just how do they eventually kill them when they kill them?

Injections.

All across the media were splashed these stories about how animals were killed for fur.

Anti fur Act…

This is not an activist myth. This isn’t an urban legend. This is what happens.

It is real. It is actually happening.

May the horrific fur industry quickly end as we all quickly transition to an organic vegan lifestyle free of animal products and see the innumerable blessings our world gains through the practice of life-affirming ways. Our heartfelt appreciation, Shannon Keith and all others involved in the production of “Skin Trade,” for graciously allowing us to broadcast your documentary across the globe. The final part of our three part presentation of “Skin Trade” is next Tuesday on Stop Animal Cruelty.

For more details on “Skin Trade”, please visit www.SkinTradetheMovie.com
The Skin Trade DVD is available at the same website
For more information on Animal Rescue Media & Education, please visit: www.ARME.tv

Thank you for joining us on today’s program. Enlightening Entertainment is up next, after Noteworthy News. May Heaven grace all beings with bountiful peace and fulfillment.