Islington Becomes First London Borough to Ban Fur 

Starting October 1, 2019, the sale of fur will be prohibited in the London borough of Islington. Today, Islington Council met to finalize the new legislation which prohibits the sale of all fur products on government-owned land, including street markets—a law that will be enforced starting January 1, 2020. Islington is the first London borough to ban fur and the second council in the United Kingdom to do so, following a fur ban passed by Oldham, England last year. Animal-rights group Humane Society International (HSI) UK launched the #FurFreeBritain campaign to encourage legislators across the UK to enact fur bans. “We applaud Islington Council for becoming the first London borough to take explicit and decisive action to stop the sale of a product that causes such extreme animal suffering, in the borough’s markets,” Claire Bass, Executive Director of HSI UK, said. “The Councillors’ decision was clearly driven by compassion, and shows their progressive values in reflection of the vast majority of Islington residents who reject the cruel and unnecessary fur trade. We encourage other councils to follow in Islington’s steps, and we urge the government to take note of this ban as another step towards our goal of a UK-wide sales ban.” Stateside, a state-wide ban is currently being considered by legislators in New York and California—where several cities have already banned the sale of fur. Last week, California governor Gavin Newsom signed The Wildlife Protection Act of 2019 (AB 273) into law, effectively banning fur-trapping and the sale of fur obtained from trapping animals across the state.