For Immediate Release: December 15, 2005

Contacts: Mercy For Animals: 1-866-632-6446

FUR-WEARERS DEBUT MUST-HAVE ACCESSORY: A BAG OVER THE HEAD

Latest Fashion Stops Traffic Outside Marshall Field’s - Group Urges Holiday Shoppers to Boycott Fur

Chicago, IL - Wearing full-length fur coats and hiding their faces under paper bags that spell out “SHAME,” women will protest animal cruelty in the fur industry outside Marshall Field’s on Saturday. The brown-baggers will be joined by members of the animal advocacy organization Mercy For Animals (MFA) holding a banner that declares, “Cruelty is Never in Fashion,” and signs that read, “Have a Heart, Don’t Wear Fur.” An activist wearing an electronic “body screen” TV will air shocking undercover footage of animals being electrocuted to death on fur farms.

Date: Saturday, December 17

Time: noon - 1:00 p.m.

Location: Marshall Field’s, southeast corner of Randolph St. and State St.

Why the bags? On fur farms, animals spend their entire lives in tiny, filthy cages, where they suffer physical and psychological distress before being killed by poisoning, gassing, anal electrocution, or neck-breaking. An undercover investigation recently revealed abuses on a Michigan fur farm, including the painful electrocution and neck-breaking of chinchillas, causing them to writhe in agony. Animals trapped for fur suffer excruciating pain, often for days, before having their chests stomped or necks broken by trappers.

“There is nothing fashionable about cruelty to animals,” says MFA’s Director of Campaigns Danielle Marino. “Animals are gassed, electrocuted, drowned, or beaten to death, and some are even skinned alive to be made into fur coats or fur trim. With so many stylish synthetics available, there’s no excuse for wearing fur.”

Broadcast-quality footage of animal cruelty in the fur industry is available.