BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. Voters in star-studded Beverly
Hills Tuesday over-
whelmingly rejected a measure to require tags on fur coats with labels
saying how the animals were killed -- electrocuted, gassed, clubbed or
put
to sleep painlessly. The proposal had set the fur flying in this town
full of
swanky designer stores, pitting animal rights activists and stars such
as Jack
Lemmon and broadcaster Larry King against businesses and fashion
fanatics.
City spokeswoman Robin Chancellor said 63.8 percent of
voters cast their
ballots against the measure, with 36.2 supporting it, although absentee
ballots
had not yet been counted.
Chancellor said that with votes from all six precincts
in the city counted, 3,363
people voted against the measure, with 1,908 casting ballots in favor.
She
said about 25 percent of the 20,000 registered voters in Beverly Hills
went to
the polls.
The proposition would have required any garment
containing fur valued at $50
or more to carry a warning tag unless the store could verify that the
animal
was killed in a humane fashion. The tag would have stated: "This product
is
made with fur from animals that may have been killed by electrocution,
gassing, neck breaking, poisoning, clubbing, stomping or drowning, and
may
have been trapped in steel-jaw, leghold traps.''
Beverly Hills furriers said they risked going out of
business if the measure
had passed and were angry that animal rights activists succeeded in
shining
an unwelcome spotlight on Beverly Hills' status as one of the wealthiest
communities in the United States.
"Most of our 20,000 clients think the whole issue is
ridiculous. The animal
rights people are just doing it for the shock value. They're trying to
put the
industry out of business,'' said Douglas Fine of Somper Furs, which has
been selling minks to the stars for more than 50 years.
Los Angeles Times columnist Al Martinez said the
proposal epitomized the
image of self-conscious silliness for which Beverly Hills is renowned.
"The
fur label is goofy, a product of minds too narrow to embrace other
ideals,''
Martinez wrote.
But the Humane Society, one of a host of animal
protection groups that
backed the measure, argued that it is wrong to kill animals for the sake
of
fashion.
"It is all the more absurd that people wear fur in a
Mediterranean climate
like Beverly Hills. It is gaudiness and cruelty at its absolute worst,''
said
Humane Society spokesman Wayne Pacelle.
The measure was placed on the ballot after the Beverly
Hills Consumers for
Informed Choice collected more than 3,000 signatures from voters in the
city. A fierce battle then raged on billboards and in local newspapers,
with
both sides recruiting among the town's millionaire residents for
support.
John Paul de Jouria, founder of the Paul Mitchell hair
care line, was among
those lending his name to the "Yes'' campaign. I built a multimillion
dollar
business here in a city based on the principle that consumers seek
products
that don't involve cruelty to animals,'' he said.
Source:
[email protected]
Go on to Job Opening
Return to 19 May 1999 Issue
Return to Newsletters
** Fair Use Notice**
This document may contain copyrighted material, use of which has not been
specifically authorized by the copyright owners. I believe that this
not-for-profit, educational use on the Web constitutes a fair use of the
copyrighted material (as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright
Law). If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your
own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright
owner.