Fur-Free Wellesley
UPDATE: The below proposed fur sales ban passed on October 28, 2020 (140 in favor, 64 opposed, 2 abstentions)
A bylaw for Wellesley’s 2020 Special Town Meeting to prohibit the sale of fur.
Supported by the Humane Society of the United States, the MSPCA, and the Animal Legal Defense Fund
In July 2020, the Humane Society of the United States released footage from 11 fur farms in Asia, the world’s top producer of fur. The investigation showed caged raccoon dogs exhibiting repetitive stereotypical behavior, foxes beaten repeatedly over the face and head with a metal bar, and foxes cut and skinned while still alive and clearly moving.
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 these informational slides 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 ban. As two recent polls by the Humane Society Legislative Fund and Fur-Free Alliance have demonstrated, the majority of Massachusetts voters want to follow in California’s footsteps and support a fur-free state.
Please contact me, Liza Oliver (liza.oliver@wellesley.edu), with questions and concerns, or to get involved. I have been a resident of Wellesley since I began work as a professor at Wellesley College in 2015. I began Fur-Free Massachusetts and its corresponding local initiative Fur-Free Wellesley a year and a half ago. It has since become a coalition of supporters comprising over a dozen local, state, and national animal rights organizations. I look forward to hearing from members of the community about my citizens petition.
PROPOSED WELLESLEY BYLAW — ARTICLE 53A. FUR PRODUCTS
53A.1. Purpose and Findings.
a. The Town finds that animals that are slaughtered for their fur endure tremendous suffering. Animals raised on fur farms typically spend their entire lives in cramped and filthy cages. Fur farmers typically use the cheapest killing methods available, including suffocation, electrocution, gas, and poison.
b. Considering the wide array of alternatives for fashion and apparel, the Town finds that the demand for fur products does not justify the unnecessary killing and cruel treatment of animals.
c. The Town believes that eliminating the sale of fur products in the Town of Wellesley will promote community awareness of animal welfare and, in turn, will foster a more humane environment in Wellesley.
53A.2. Definitions. For purposes of this Article, the following words and phrases have the definitions set forth next to them:
“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. A dog or cat fur product, as defined in Section 1308 of Title 19 of the United States Code;
b. 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;
c. Cowhide with the hair attached thereto;
d. Lambskin or sheepskin with the fleece attached thereto; or
e. The pelt or skin of any animal that is preserved through taxidermy or for the purpose of taxidermy.
“Non-profit 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”: A person who buys for their own use, or for the use of another, but not for resale or trade.
“Used fur product”: Fur in any form that has been worn or used by an ultimate consumer.
53A.3. Prohibitions. It is unlawful to sell, offer for sale, display for sale, trade, or otherwise distribute for monetary or nonmonetary consideration a fur product in the Town of Wellesley.
53A.4. Exceptions. The prohibitions set forth in section 53A.3 of this Article do not apply to the sale, offer for sale, displaying for sale, trade, or distribution of:
a. A used fur product by a private party (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.
53A.5. Penalty. In addition to any other remedy provided by law, this Article may be enforced by police officers and animal control officers through any means available in law or equity, including but not limited to noncriminal disposition in accordance with G.L. c. 40, § 21D. 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.