Another British retailer bans fur

LONDON - Liberty has become the latest major British retailer to bow to pressure from animal rights activists and stop selling fur.

The upmarket department store on Regent Street in central London announced its decision in an email to the Campaign to Abolish the Fur Trade (Caft). It follows a protracted lobbying effort which saw hundreds of activists bombard the company with emails and stage a demonstration outside the store in November.

Liberty's move comes in the wake of Selfridge's decision to go fur-free in May. Other companies to have made the move include Harvey Nichols, Fenwicks, House of Fraser and Debenhams. Harrods closed its fur salon in 1990 but continues to sell garments with fur trims.

The use of furs, from lynx, fox, beaver and sable to astrakhan and broadtail was one of the headline-grabbing features of the Paris and Milan catwalks this year.

While some dismissed it as an indulgence of publicity-hungry couture designers, animal welfare campaigners feared it could be the start of a trend. Elizabeth Jagger's appearance at London Fashion Week draped in a fox stole provoked fury from activists.

Fur's return into fashion has been marked by increased sales. The British Fur Traders Association (BFTA) said its members saw growth last year of 33 per cent on trade worth up to £500 million ($1.3 billion).

Caft said it was now focusing its effort on convincing Joseph, the fashion retailer that was recently the subject of a takeover by a Japanese clothing firm, to stop selling fur. The company has already been told to stop offering it at its concession in Selfridges and other department stores. No one at Joseph was available for comment yesterday.

Louise Stevenson, spokeswoman for Caft, said Liberty's retail services manager Richard Davis announced the change of policy last week. His email, posted on Caft's website followed an inquiry by one of the group's supporters.

Mr Davis said: "Liberty no longer sells fur and has no intention of doing so."

The group urged supporters to ring the company and congratulate it on its decision. Those that did so yesterday were put through to a voicemail box in the company's marketing department.

Ms Stevenson said retailers that claimed that the fur they sold was a by-product of the meat industry were misleading the public. Since fur farming was banned in Britain in 2003, furriers have imported pelts, largely from rabbits, from China and Spain. While only 15 retailers - most of them boutique outlets - continue to offer fur products for sale, some 400 designers still work in the material.

Ms Stevenson said: "Rabbits are killed for meat when aged between 10 and 12 weeks. At that age the fur is not deemed to be of a good enough quality. They prefer to use animals aged 8 to 9 months when they have shed their first winter coats."

A spokeswoman for the BFTA said fur remained an integral part of the fashion world and was rigorously governed by national and international laws.

"The views of animal rights organisations should not be forced on others, in particular through threats of intimidation against commercial enterprises. Unfortunately, not everyone understands the difference between animal welfare, which has the full commitment of our sector, and animals rights, which seeks to ban every animal use by man, whether for food, medical or scientific research, clothing or companionship," she said.

- INDEPENDENT