Wetlands Works January 2001
Santa Claus, Curious George Declare Fur Free Holiday in Protest at Macy’s
On December 23rd, 2001 the Activism Center at Wetlands Preserve and In Defense of Animals have come together to commemorate the heaviest shopping weekend of the year by coordinating a “Fur Free Holiday”. Dozens of activists have come out on this day to speak out against the cruel fur trade. They have marched from the Fashion Institute of Technology, where design students are taught to work with fur, through the fur market and up to Macy*s, which is one of the largest retailers of fur in the country.
Throughout the march the protestors sang anti-fur carols to fur stores. Carolers sang “On the fifth day of Christmas the fur store gave to us; five strangled mink, four caged chinchillas, three drowned beavers, two chewed off paws, and mutilated bloody fox.” Among other songs were “We Wish You a Fur-Free Christmas,” “Furriers you must leave town.” and “Fur is murder, Fur is dead ö Fa la la la la la la la la.”
The march was led by Santa Claus and Curious George. Curious George is a monkey from a popular series of children's books who's curious mind gets him in constant trouble. When the march has reached it’s final location at Macy*s, the protesters have performed street theater. During the street theater Curious George was very curious to find out what would happen if he went near the mock leg hold trap. As usual, George has gotten into trouble due to his curiosity. He got caught in the trap and bled profusely while writhing in agony. In the curious George books, George is usually rescued by his friend the Man in the Yellow Hat, but in our satire we found George betrayed by the Man in the Yellow Hat. When the Man in the Yellow Hat arrived on the scene, his chest was emblazoned with a “Macy*s Fur Department” logo. He stuck a pole in Curious George's mouth, and proceeded to stomp on the monkey's lungs. Fortunately, Santa Claus has come to save the day. Santa shoved the man in the Yellow Hat away, and released the injured monkey from the trap. He then told the gathered crowd that they can rescue curious animals caught in traps every day by boycotting Macy's until they stop selling fur.
Macy's annually makes Santa Claus a major part of its holiday promotions and in recent years has adopted a licensed character (e.g.Curious George) from a children's book, cartoon or comic strip as its holiday mascot. That character is represented on Macy's shopping bags, by a balloon in the Thanksgiving Day Parade, and by a costumed actor who makes in-store appearances. As Santa and Curious George are sympathetic characters, we attempted to reclaim their images from Macy*s in our street theater to suggest that these lovable, good-natured characters would be outraged to be used as promotional devices for a store responsible for massive animal suffering.
Macy*s kills thousands of animals every year so that they can sell fur garments. Animals that are killed for fur are killed through trapping, gassing, anal/vaginal electrocution, neck breaking, and strangling. Animals caught in traps have their bones and organs crushed, leading them to bite off their own feet escape.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
1) Boycott Federated Department Stores Macy*s and Bloomingdales stores until they stop selling fur.
2) Write to Macy*s and Federated Stores to voice your disgust with their involvement in the bloody fur trade. Write to Ron Klein, Chairman and CEO, Macy’s East, ,151 W. 34th Street, New York, NY 10001 Phone: 212-695-4400 Also contact Terry Lundgren, CEO, Federated Department Stores, Inc., 7 West Seventh St., Cincinnati, OH 45202. 513-579-7000
3) Volunteer with The Activism Center at Wetlands Preserve: call (201) 968-0595 for more information.
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