Successful day of action against fur in Utrecht
Respect voor Dieren - 08.10.2009 15:02
Utrecht, Zaterdag 3 oktober - Twelve activists took the streets of Utrecht to educate the public about the cruelty of the fur industry, and to fight against the sale of fur in the city. It was a successful day – attracting new activists, reaching hundreds of people with the message of animal liberation, and resulting in two shops agreeing to stop selling fur!
Our first stop was Leder Paleis, on Achter Clarenburg. This shop exists for the sole purpose of selling dead animals, as leather and fur, and has been a target of previous demonstrations. We gave out hundreds of leaflets, and attracted attention with our banner proclaiming "Alle dieren vrij" (All animals free) and shouts of "Schande, schande, bloed aan jouw handen" (Shame, shame, blood on your hands).
Our next stop was Pulls, which sells fur in a number of its 23 shops in the Netherlands. We will continue to target Pulls until they issue a full fur-free policy, and there are plenty of branches so everyone can organise a demonstration at their local shop!
The shopping street Oudkerkhof was the next destination, as we protested outside The Society Shop, Players and McGregor (also protested against by Bite Back in Amsterdam on the same day). They must have been expecting us, as red carpets were laid outside all three shops. Thanks for your hospitality – we’ll visit again soon! Oudkerkhof is the centre of the fur trade in Utrecht, and we will soon be turning our attention to Calzature and Image, also on the same street.
At Cocon, on Choorstraat, we told the owner about the realities of fur farming, where animals are driven mad by solitary life in tiny cages, before death by gassing or anal electrocution. She agreed that there’s no place for cruelty in fashion, and pledged never to sell fur again. Result!
The next shop, Passamenterie, had sold items made of rabbit fur, and had recently been subject of a demonstration by Respect voor Dieren. Today we were told that they no longer sell fur, something we corroborated by checking through the material in the shop ourselves. Another result! Having finished our work for the day, we chatted to a worker from the shop about veganism, talking about the variety of tasty, healthy food we eat and showing off our fur-free, wool-free, leather-free fashion!
All in all, a good day’s work and a nice warm up for the upcoming action weekend in Utrecht. Wat willen wij? Alle dieren vrij!
 E-Mail: info@respectvoordieren.nl  Website: http://www.respectvoordieren.nl
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