Fur-Free Plymouth
A proposed bylaw for Plymouth’s April 2022 Annual Town Meeting
Supported by the Humane Society of the United States, the MSPCA, and the Animal Legal Defense Fund
Each year, more than 100,000,000 animals are raised or trapped and killed for their fur, enduring tremendous suffering. Animals raised on fur farms typically spend their entire lives in cramped and filthy cages and animals trapped in the wild can languish for many hours or days without food or water. Fur farmers typically use the cheapest (and therefore slowest) killing methods available, including suffocation, electrocution, gas and poison. Additionally, fur production has an extremely adverse impact on the environment, from greenhouse gas emissions and biodiversity loss to waste and toxin runoff.
Please consult “Fur Industry Facts” and “News” on this website for further information about the animal cruelty and adverse environmental impact of the fur industry, and for information about the numerous successful fur bans already implemented in the United States and abroad, including the recent state-wide California fur sales ban and country-wide fur ban in Israel. In Massachusetts, fur sales bans in Wellesley, Weston, and Brookline have already passed. As two recent polls by the Humane Society Legislative Fund and Fur-Free Alliance have demonstrated, the majority of Massachusetts voters support a fur-free state.
TRADE IN FUR PRODUCTS
Chapter 23 Animals, Article VI Fur Products
To see if the town will vote to amend the general bylaw by adding the following new Chapter 73, as printed below.
§ 23.6.1. Purpose and findings.
§ 23.6.2. Definitions.
§ 23.6.3. Prohibition.
§ 23.6.4. Exceptions.
§ 23.6.5. Penalty.
§ 23.6.6. Effective date.
§ 23.6.7. Severability.
§ 23.6.1. Purpose and findings.
To protect the health and welfare of the inhabitants of this town, this bylaw will restrict trade in fur products. Fur farms are reservoirs and transmission vectors for dangerous zoonotic diseases, including SARS coronaviruses, that threaten public health, including in the Town of Plymouth. In addition, the fur production process is energy intensive and has a significant environmental impact, including air and water pollution, and animals that are slaughtered for their fur endure tremendous suffering. Eliminating the sale of fur products in the Town of Plymouth will decrease the demand for these cruel and environmentally harmful products and promote community health and wellbeing as well as animal welfare, and, in turn, will foster a more humane environment in the Town and enhance the reputation of the Town.
§ 23.6.2. Definitions.
As used in this Chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
FUR:
Any animal skin or part thereof with hair, fleece, or fur fibers attached thereto, either in its raw or processed state.
FUR PRODUCT:
Any article of clothing or covering for any part of the body, or any fashion accessory, including, but not limited to handbags, shoes, slippers, hats, earmuffs, scarves, shawls, gloves, jewelry, keychains, toys or trinkets, and home accessories and décor, that is made in whole or part of fur. “Fur product” does not include any of the following:
A. An animal skin or part thereof that is to be converted into leather, or which in processing will have the hair, fleece, or fur fiber completely removed;
B. Cowhide with the hair attached thereto;
C. Lambskin or sheepskin with the fleece attached thereto; or
D. The pelt or skin of any animal that is preserved through taxidermy or for the purpose of taxidermy.
NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION:
Any corporation that is organized under 26 U.S.C. Section 501(c)(3) that is created for charitable, religious, philanthropic, educational, or similar purposes.
RETAIL TRANSACTION:
Any transfer of title of a fur product for consideration, made in the ordinary course of the seller’s business, to the purchaser for use other than resale or further processing or manufacturing.
TAXIDERMY:
The practice of preparing and preserving the skin of an animal that is deceased and stuffing and mounting it in lifelike form.
ULTIMATE CONSUMER:
An individual who buys for their own use, or for the use of another, but not for resale or trade.
USED FUR PRODUCT:
A fur product that has been worn or used by an ultimate consumer.
§ 23.6.3. Prohibition.
Notwithstanding any other provision of the bylaws, no person shall sell, offer for sale, display for sale, trade, or otherwise distribute for monetary or nonmonetary consideration a fur product in the Town of Plymouth.
§ 23.6.4. Exceptions.
The prohibitions set forth in Section 73-3 of this Chapter do not apply to the sale, offer for sale, displaying for sale, trade, or distribution of:
A. A used fur product by an individual (excluding a retail transaction), non-profit organization, or second-hand store, including a pawn shop;
B. A fur product required for use in the practice of a religion;
C. A fur product used for traditional tribal, cultural, or spiritual purposes by a member of a federally recognized or state recognized Native American tribe; or
D. A fur product where the activity is expressly authorized by federal or state law.
§ 23.6.5. Penalty.
Any person violating this bylaw shall be liable to the Town in the amount of $300. Each fur product and every day upon which any such violation shall occur shall constitute a separate offense.
§ 23.6.6. Effective date.
This bylaw shall take effect following approval of the Attorney General and compliance with the provisions of G.L. c.40, § 32, and no earlier than May 1, 2023.
§ 23.6.7. Severability.
If any provision of this bylaw shall be held to be invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, then such provision shall be considered separately and apart from the remaining provisions of this bylaw, which shall remain in full force and effect.