Harpo Productions
P. O. Box 909715
Chicago, IL 60607
Dear Ms. Winfrey:
I was so saddened and angered to hear that you gave away slippers trimmed with mink fur on a recent show.
Compassionate people all over the world have been working for decades to bring the plight of fur bearing animals to public attention. Your fur trim give away is a tremendous slap in the face to all of us who work tirelessly for the animals. Even though it's just "fur trim" it still means suffering and eventual death to the animal.
Whether these animals are trapped in snares, conibears, or leg hold traps - they struggle in agonizing pain to free themselves. It is estimated that 1 in 4 animals caught in traps actually chew their foot off to free themselves - only later to die of infection, blood loss, or predation. There are no "humane" traps and they are all indiscriminant. Legally set traps kill millions of non-target animals every year, for example, cats, dogs, eagles and other threatened species.
If the fur bearing animals are raised on farms, they live their ENTIRE lives in filthy, cramped cages with wire bottoms. They are denied the chance to socialize properly, exercise, roam, hunt for food etc.... Their suffering is ended by vaginal or anal electrocution, strangling, neck breaking, or the crudest of all - gassing. There are no U.S. laws regulating how animals on fur farms are to be housed or killed.
I feel an apology is warranted to the thousands of people working to end cruelty to animals and especially to the 40 million animals who die every year for fur and fur trim!
Compassion is the new fashion!
For more information please go to:
www.infurmation.com, www.furisdead.com, and www.banlegholdtraps.com.
Sincerely,
