Michelle Obama Swears Off Fur
An Animal Rights Article from All-Creatures.org

FROM

USMagazine.com
June 2009

One day after French First Lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy told PETA that she no longer wears real fur, Obama made her own animal-friendly announcement, the Washington Times reports.

"Mrs. Obama does not wear fur," her deputy press secretary, Semonti Mustaphi, said Thursday.

Obama and Bruni-Sarkozy -- who have met twice in recent months -- are both widely known as two of the most fashionable political wives. PETA has pushed Bruni-Sarkozy -- who was photographed wearing what appeared to be fur -- in particular to donate her coats to the homeless.

"I do not wear, buy or own fur or animal skin other than leather or skin of animals raised for feeding purposes," she said in a letter to PETA. "I am not a vegetarian, and I don't find it illogical to wear skins of animals whose meat is also eaten. I would gladly consider giving away sable, fox and other fur coats -- if I owned any."

Unlike Bruni-Sarkozy, Obama wasn't targeted by PETA.

"We've never written to Michelle Obama about this issue because we have always known her to be fur-free," Amanda Schinke, media campaigns coordinator for PETA, said.

Still, less than a week after a sightseeing trip to France with her family, Obama followed suit with the former French supermodel.

"For Michelle Obama, respecting animals is obviously part of the social progress that she and her husband are working so hard to promote," PETA Senior Vice President Dan Mathews said. "By officially rejecting fur, these two style icons will make people everywhere see fur for what it is: old-fashioned and cruel."

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