PETA US Appeals to Ivanka Trump Over Fur Pompoms Prompted by New Video of Chinese Rabbit Slaughter

For Immediate Release:
17 February 2016

Contact:
Jennifer White +44 (0) 20 7837 6327, ext 222; [email protected]

PETA US APPEALS TO IVANKA TRUMP OVER FUR POMPOMS PROMPTED BY NEW VIDEO OF CHINESE RABBIT SLAUGHTER

Designer Is Asked to Stop Wearing and Working With Fur Immediately, After Investigation Reveals That Rabbits Are Hit, Skinned Alive

London – Ivanka Trump is selling hats with pompoms made of fur from rabbits killed in China, but a daring new PETA Asia investigation deep inside the rabbit-fur industry in China – the world’s largest fur exporter – now reveals that slaughterhouse workers leave panic-stricken rabbits to struggle and thrash wildly after hitting them on the head with the back of a knife, hanging them upside down and slitting their throats. Almost all the rabbits still kick and twitch as their throats are slit, and some are even shown being skinned alive.

PETA US – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to wear” – has sent Trump a letter calling on her to stop wearing or working with real fur. She already offers many faux-fur items and can easily make the switch.

“Terrified rabbits are often hit, hung up and skinned alive for frivolous accessories like Ivanka Trump’s rabbit-fur pompom hats”, says PETA Director Mimi Bekhechi. “We are calling on compassionate shoppers and designers to give all animal fur a wide berth.”

PETA Asia’s video also reveals that rabbits lived in filthy, urine-encrusted cages with piles of faeces accumulated beneath them. The cages had wire bottoms, which are extremely painful to rabbits’ sensitive feet. On one farm, each cage contained a mug of drinking water, but many of them were tipped over, and the rabbits were trying desperately to drink from their empty mugs. One rabbit suffered from a skin condition that caused hair loss, and at least two others were unable to stand up. There are no penalties for abusing animals on fur farms in China.

Many top designers and retailers – including Calvin Klein, Stella McCartney, Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Vivienne Westwood and dozens of others – are 100 per cent fur-free.

Broadcast-quality video footage is available upon request. For more information, please visit PETA.org.uk.

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