After just ten days of public and NGO condemnation and disgust at controversial decision to start selling fur again, #FurFreeBritain campaigners at Humane Society International UK confirmed that real fur items have been removed from the company’s website, and store managers at their flagship Oxford Street site confirmed to HSI/UK’s Director this morning that all real fur has been removed and there is currently no real fur available on the shop floor at any House of Fraser sites nationwide.

HSI UK tweeted photos confirming the fur removal today.

Claire Bass, UK Executive Director of Humane Society International said: “We are delighted to see that cruel animal fur products have been removed from House of Fraser’s website and stores nationwide. HoF’s new CEO Mike Ashley has been hit by a  tsunami of public protest, with thousands of messages from shoppers shocked and appalled to see this respected high street store turned into a House of Horrors, selling fur from factory-farmed rabbits, foxes and raccoon dogs as well as coyotes trapped and shot in the wild. British shoppers have sent the message loud and clear that fur is bad for business, and has no place on the British high street. We urge House of Fraser to publicly reinstate and uphold its long-standing fur-free policy.”

House of Fraser was dubbed House of Horrors by Humane Society International/UK just days ago for ditching its long-held fur-free policy and once again selling real animal fur in store. Jackets made by Parajumpers, Pyrenex and Mackage using fur from wild-trapped coyote, as well as fur factory farmed rabbit and raccoon dog from China, and raccoon dog and fox from Finland, went on sale in store and online for the first time since House of Fraser first banned all fur over a decade ago. On 12^th November House of Fraser confirmed to HSI/UK that its policy had changed in October 2019 following the company’s takeover by Sports Direct.  On the same day HSI/UK wrote to CEO Mike Ashley to register its deep alarm at finding real animal fur for sale and asking for an urgent meeting.

House of Fraser had previously publicly declared that its customers don’t want fur. In response to a 2017 HSI/UK investigation that found the retailer selling real fur as faux,  a House of Fraser spokeswoman told reporters “Our customers want assurances that House of Fraser is not be complicit in such unnecessary suffering of animals and we take this issue very seriously and have communicated this to the brand in question.” (Full quote below)

The UK banned fur farming almost two decades ago in 2000 on ethical grounds, but since then has allowed imports of more than £820 million worth of fur from overseas, including Finland and China. These UK fur imports are a double standard that HSI UK through its #FurFreeBritain campaign is urging the government to address.

Claire continued “The public response to House of Fraser’s misjudged fur experiment should leave political parties in no doubt that pledges to end the UK fur trade would be a popular policy with voters. We encourage all parties and prospective parliamentary candidates to state their commitment to a UK fur sales ban in the next parliamentary term.”

HSI’s petition calling for the UK government to ban UK fur sales can be signed here: www.hsi.org/FurFreeBritain