Anti-Fur Campaign Against Outerwear Company Goes Viral

A video campaign launched by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) against luxury outerwear company Canada Goose went viral last week. In the short video—which has already received approximately 17 million views and more than 45,000 outraged comments—a coyote is seen struggling in a steel trap until he is shot, which is juxtaposed with jackets that are lined in coyote fur. Animal-rights activists and celebrities including Kat Von D and Pamela Anderson have shared the video. In an attempt to mitigate the mounting public outrage, Canada Goose responded to the video via its Facebook page stating, among other things, that “wearing fur is a personal choice” and justifying trapping and killing coyotes for fur with a statement that its “promise is to make the warmest jackets on earth—it’s used for function, not fashion.” PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman posed the question, “With so many high-tech, faux-fur, feather-free materials available today, what kind of company still slaughters coyotes and geese for outerwear?”