Former CEO of Fur Trade Association Denounces Trade And Calls For Ban
Mike Moser worked in the fur trade for ten years and visited fur farms across the globe. Now, he’s campaigning for an urgent ban on fur - calling the trade “indefensible” and “unacceptable”.
A caged fox on a fur farm. Credit: Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals.
A former CEO of the Fur Trade Association has come out in support of a ban on fur after working in the industry for over a decade.
While helping to run the UK Fur Trade Association as its CEO, Mike Moser visited fur farms around the world and devised ways to promote the fur industry to consumers.
But now Moser has publicly denounced the fur trade following a change of heart, and deeply regrets not leaving the industry sooner.
“I spent ten years working for the fur trade, and in that time I visited fur farms across the globe so I’ve seen the reality of fur farming. Over time I realised that whatever soundbites we devised to reassure consumers, retailers and politicians, neither welfare regulations nor any industry certification scheme, would ever change the reality of these animals being stuck in tiny wire cages for their entire lives”, Moser explained during an interview with Sky News.
Recent investigations into the fur trade have repeatedly revealed immense animal suffering. Footage released earlier this year shows foxes being beaten over the face with a metal bar, and cut and skinned while still alive.
Moser realised that he was “defending the indefensible”.
“I would come home to Barney my Labrador, who I loved dearly, and realise that he wasn’t that much different in size to some of the animals I saw languishing on fur farms, and the thought of him being treated like that was just unthinkable. I felt a complete hypocrite”, Moser says.
Following his change of heart, Moser is now helping as a consultant with animal welfare group Human Society International (HSI) to campaign against fur.
HSI UK’s director Claire Bass welcomed his support, saying how “it doesn’t surprise me that it was Mike’s love for his dog Barney that was at the heart of his epiphany that caging and killing animals for their fur is wrong. If the idea of locking a pet dog in a cage for life and then electrocuting and skinning that animal for fur is unthinkable, then it’s not a big leap to feel similar empathy for animals like foxes who endure this cruelty on fur farms.”
“If someone like him with a decade’s experience inside the fur industry says it’s right to ban fur sales, then it’s time to take action and end the suffering,” Bass added.
As part of the global fur trade, more than 100 million animals are killed for their fur every year, including coyote, mink, raccoon dog, and chinchilla.
However, with increased awareness of the cruelty involved in fur farming, the likes of Moser and HSI are helping consumers lead the trend towards faux-fur and animal-free fashion.
In 2019, California became the first US state to ban the sale of fur, and an overwhelming number of fashion designers and retailers have also dropped fur, including Gucci, Versace, and Macy’s.
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The footage was reportedly recorded at Marshall BioResources in North Rose, New York, where up to 22,000 dogs - mostly beagles - are being bred for animal experimentation.