Rhode Island: Urge Your State Legislators to Protect Animals Killed for Their Fur

On fur farms, animals like foxes and minks are confined to tiny wire cages for virtually their entire lives. Unable to engage in most of their natural behaviors, these animals routinely resort to self-mutilation, obsessive pacing, and infanticide. Undercover investigations on fur farms have uncovered egregious cruelty — including animals being skinned alive.

The Rhode Island legislature is considering a bill, HB 5188, that would ban the sale of new fur products in the state. The House Judiciary Committee is expected to hold a hearing on the bill shortly. Please help shut down the cruel fur industry by using the form below to send an email urging the passage of HB 5188.

We are grateful to Representative Pat Serpa, Robert Phillips, and Steven Lima for introducing this important legislation.

Editing the email to use your own words will help make your letter stand out. Consider borrowing from these bullet points:

• HB 5188 would ban the sale of new fur products with exceptions including for used fur products or fur products used in the practice of a religion
• The vast majority of fur items come from animals who are raised on fur farms in factory-like conditions. Animals, including foxes, minks, and rabbits, are typically crammed into tiny wire cages and unable to engage in most of their natural behaviors. They frequently resort to self-mutilation, obsessive pacing, and infanticide.
• To maintain the integrity of their skin and fur, animals are usually killed via suffocation, electrocution, gassing, or poisoning. Sometimes, they are bludgeoned in the head or face repeatedly. Animals are sometimes skinned alive while still conscious.
• Whenever animals are intensively confined without regard for their health or welfare, public health is endangered. Fur farms often confine thousands of animals to small barns or open-air cage systems. Sanitation is typically poor, and veterinary care is almost non-existent. As a result, these fur factory farms are breeding grounds for pathogens that can result in zoonotic diseases. Mink fur farms in the U.S. and around the globe have become hot spots for COVID-19. Minks are the only animal known to both catch the virus from people and transmit it to them.
• In 2019, California became the first state to ban the sale of new fur products. Fur bans are currently being considered in multiple state legislatures including Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, and Hawaii.