Now, we know the ‘Whose Skin Are You In?’ video rocks, the animals sure as hell do, but it’s always nice to know what people around the world think of it. So we were all dead chuffed to find out that it has won an award in the “Best video on animal rights” category of international ‘rights’ film festival, STEPS 2008. But what I love the most about this, is that the festival and screening of the winning films (including ‘Whose Skin?’ of course) take place in Ukraine!

Spreading the anti-fur message in this country is vital, as it’s pretty cold during the winter months – which means fur pops up just about everywhere. So animal protection group CETA ‘Life’ (Centre for the Ethical Treatment of Animals ‘Life’) were spot on to choose this shocking exposé of the cruel fur trade. See the winning film below!

Unlike some celebrities, who rely on helping companies flog dead animals in a bid to revive a failing acting career, Victoria Beckham, a.k.a. Posh Spice, has a heart of gold and a fashion sense to make any girl turn green with envy.

Snapped wearing a convincing faux-fur, Posh proves to wannabes and furry celebrities everywhere that you don’t need to wear the skin of a slaughtered animal to look good. According to a source in the Daily Mail, she is “very firm on the subject of fur” and joins the likes of everyone’s favourite designer, Stella McCartney, by pledging “to never work with fur in any of [her] own collections.” Bravo!

Image: CriticsRant / CC

As you might be able to tell by now, my theme for the blog today is ‘the cold’. Like a true Brit, I moan about the cold a lot and these sub-zero temperatures reaching my tootsies just send me right off on one. But what stopped me in my tracks today, were these photos.

Yes, that’s a naked protest. Against fur. In the snow. Suddenly my tootsies aren’t so cold anymore. It makes me shiver to even think about how many inches up the girls’ legs the snow is reaching in the leopard paint photos. Brrrrr.

On a whirlwind tour of the coldest parts of Europe, these activists have been ditching their thermals and donning leopard print paint and bunny ears in order to show the fur-clad people of Russia and Finland that this is nothing compared to what animals on fur farms have to suffer through for fashion. In winter, minks, foxes and other animals endure freezing temperatures, rain, sleet and snow in crowded and filthy cages that they are confined to all year round. Watch this undercover investigation into a Finnish fur farm, that we sent to Burberry shareholders, and you’ll see why our lovely ladies were so keen to get nekkid for the animals.

We’ve had our first sprinkling of snow here, and now I have every finger and toe crossed that it bodes well for snow on Christmas Day. C’mon, just one white Christmas every now and then isn’t too much to ask, surely? But not everything white and fluffy in this lead up to the festive period is quite so exciting and full of innocence.

I’m talking about rabbit fur. And believe you me, it can appear on just about anything; from toys, to ornaments, collars and cuffs. Polar bears, “Ship’s Cats” and (rather ironically) rabbits are just three of the most common furry ornaments that pop up every year, often given as gifts by well-meaning friends and relatives without realising the products are made from real rabbit fur.

The same goes for fur ‘trims’ on coats, gloves and scarves, as Natalie Imbruglia pointed out in her recent ad for PETA. Yeah, I know it’s freeeezing, but let’s leave the rabbits out of it, huh? They need their fur (and their lives to go with it), and chilly fashionistas can make do with the astounding amount of fakes out there at the moment. It’s amazing how realistic designers and high street brands make them nowadays, no-one need be none the wiser. Except the animals, of course. And it’s not only rabbit fur either, with the massive importation of cat and dog fur from China into Europe, who knows – you could end up wearing Felix or Rover!

Not sure if that item you’ve got your eye on is real or faux? Touch it, smell it, read the labels, ask the shop manager and if in doubt, just leave it behind.

Image: SourcingMap / CC

I simply couldn’t have written this better. Here’s what The PETA Files had to say when they found about Liz Hurley’s nasty little penchant for fur:

Love it.

Image: Harper’sBazaar / CC

Here’s a note from PETA US’ Senior VP Dan Mathews, on Gwyneth Paltrow’s fur faux pas back in August:

“This weekend in Miami, with friends from Ocean Drive magazine (which runs PETA ads free of charge), I attended the grand reopening of the swanky Fontainebleau Hotel. I was able to chat with vegan mogul Russell Simmons and had a word with fur offender P. Diddy, but the nicest surprise was hearing Gwyneth Paltrow explain that she regrets having posed in a fur stole in an ad for Tod’s, which has appeared in magazines everywhere this fall.

After I told her how out of character it seemed for an eco-friendly, pro-vegetarian friend of Stella McCartney to so publicly promote fur, gracious Gwyneth replied, without a hint of defensiveness:

“That was awkward, and I’m glad you asked, because I do not wear fur at all. It was a daylong photo shoot on a boat near Capri, and there were all sorts of poses with all kinds of clothes—none with fur. During one set-up, a stylist came up from behind and draped a stole around my shoulders. I didn’t pay much attention to it, and when I noticed it was fur I assumed it was fake fur but did not ask, so it’s my fault. I was very surprised when they ended up using that one shot out of hundreds for the centerpiece of the Tod’s ads. I know it’s not a great excuse, but I hope you and your members understand.”

I explained that something similar had just happened to Kate Winslet who was led to believe that the fur rug she posed on for Vanity Fair was fake, and the magazine publicly apologized when the issue became public. It seems that the fur trade is so desperate to push pelts into magazines that they have resorted to doing it on the sly.

At the end of our conversation, Gwyneth said that although she understands why fur gets so much attention, she thinks vegetarianism is something people should focus on more. She said that both she and her husband Chris Martin are pretty much vegetarian, saying, “We know it’s the best diet for us and our kids, and of course for animals and the environment.” I’m sending her a link to GoVeg.com. Who knows—maybe one day she’ll use her lovely voice to speak up for PETA’s “Meat’s Not Green” campaign.”

Image: Babble / CC

Last week around the world wide web: 

Maggie Gyllenhaal and the big fur debate. See how it all unfolded on Ecorazzi!

France hid a Mad Cow Disease epidemic back in the nineties. What other countries are doing the same thing right now? Best to steer clear of all beef and opt for the veggie version, methinks!

A bored, captive octopus kept in a German aquarium tank has taken to juggling hermit crabs, shorting the electricity and throwing rocks at the glass. The director said, “Otto is constantly craving for attention and always comes up with new stunts” - yeah, the poor guy is probably trying to escape!

This weekend in Spain, crowds tethered a bull to a post, then set his horns on fire in an annual tradition that has the world up in arms.

Lindsay Lohan’s tan turned noticeably paler tonight after an anti-fur activist showered her with flour at a nightclub in Paris. Lindsay was on her way into the VIP room on the Champs-Elysées just after 1 a.m. this morning when she had an entire bag of flour dumped over her head by a French fur foe who shouted, “Lindsay Lohan—fur hag!” Lohan has enraged animal lovers by appearing in at least two different fur coats in recent days, despite PETA US’ repeated pleas that she consider how animals suffer for every fur garment and stop wearing their skins.

When Lindsay was named in PETA’s annual Worst-Dressed List earlier this year, her entry read: “I Know Who Killed Me isn’t just the title of Lindsay Lohan’s latest bomb, it’s the cry of the animals snuffed out so that this ‘mean girl’ can pose in their pelts. Lindsay, there’s no road to recovery for the foxes who are anally electrocuted so that you can look skanky.” She was also in the public eye last winter for allegedly stealing a fur coat from a fellow partygoer.

Pledge to go fur-free at PETA.org.uk!

Our director, Robbie LeBlanc, had this to say about Lindsay’s run in with the French flour-tossing fur foe: “There is nothing remotely ‘fashionable’ about the torture and death of animals killed for fur. Lindsay Lohan might be able to ignore images of bloody animals skinned alive for their pelts, but we hope a dash of flour will help her rise to the occasion and forsake fur once and for all.”

So come on Lindsay, drop the fur for good.

See the pictures at X17online.com!

Image: 411mania / CC

World-renowned tattoo artist Henk Schiffmacher has inked the skin of some of the biggest names in rock – from Kurt Cobain and Robbie Williams, to the Foo Fighters and Red Hot Chili Peppers. But there’s one thing he can’t stomach seeing next to people’s skin: fur.

To make his point, tattoo gun in hand, Henk agreed to star in PETA’s latest “Ink, Not Mink” ad. Henk says he first learned about the cruelty of fur when he secretly filmed at a fur farm in the Netherlands years ago. “I’ve seen the slaughter of silver foxes with electrodes and the gassing of mink and piles of dead bodies”, he says. “And it ain’t a pretty sight.”

Every year, millions of minks, foxes, raccoons, dogs and cats are strangled, electrocuted and even skinned alive in the global fur industry. In China, now the world’s largest exporter of fur, fur is often deliberately mislabelled so that you have no way of knowing whether a coat is made from the fur of a dog or a cat. So if you wear fur, there is no telling whose skin you are in.

Henk joins other tattooed celebs who have declared, ‘Ink, Not Mink’, including Tommy Lee, Celebrity Big Brother and basketball legend Dennis Rodman, and Miami Ink star Ami James.

Avid Fish & Chimps fans were probably wondering why PETA didn’t jump in with teeth bared after Kate Winslet posed naked on what looks like a real fur throw in the latest issue of Vanity Fair. But behind the scenes we were busy at work contacting Kate - the beauty we’ve never, ever seen wearing animal fur.

So we sent a note to Kate pointing out how shocked we were to see photos of her posing with fur. And we were right to be shocked! We had a very prompt response from Kate’s rep and we have been assured that Kate never wears fur (as we suspected!) and she was actually told at the photoshoot that the very real fur was fake. And that’s not the first time that’s happened! PETA US has heard from countless celebs that sneaky stylists at photo shoots can be rather coy when it comes to fur and whether it’s real or not. So it seems Kate was duped, and with so many convincing fakes out there nowadays, it is easy to mistake the dead animals for the fake ones.

So, who thinks Kate should get naked with a faux-fur throw for PETA?

Image: InStyle / CC