From the beginning The HSUS has struggled to end the use of
steel-jaw leghold traps, and in 1971 our efforts really began
to show promise when a federal bill banning them was first
proposed. Five years later we participated in the second
International Humane Trapping Conference, just as the study we
commissioned proved trappers' claims groundless that trapping
protects wildlife. We continued our efforts that year with an
Awareness Kit on the Cruelties of Trapping to spread the word
about these barbaric devices.
The next year HSUS staff supported an Ohio anti-trapping
referendum and worked closely with the sponsor of a federal
bill to ban the import and interstate transport of furs from
any state or nation that allowed use of the traps. And when the
United States hosted the International Fur Fair in 1979, we
joined with other groups to raise public awareness.
In 1983 we saw tangible success when the National Park
Service banned trapping in parks where it isn't specifically
authorized. And we helped secure the passage of the first
statewide ban of the traps in 1984 in New Jersey—and
successfully defended the ban when trappers filed suit against
it the following year—all the while working to help those
seeking to enact local bans in communities across the country.
In 1984 HSUS staff also testified before Congress on behalf of
another federal bill, documenting the injuries the traps cause
to so-called nontarget species, including dogs and cats.
In 1988 we launched our Shame of Fur campaign, plastering
ads on buses and subways and billboards in major
cities—including New York City's Times Square. We distributed
thousands of press kits, educational packets, and video
documentaries and convinced many fashion designers to swear off
fur use. We also launched an ongoing program to cooperate with
local organizations to produce and post anti-fur billboards.
All of our efforts had great effect—the fur industry reported
record losses that season and the European Commission approved
a proposal to ban the import of furs from countries still using
the leghold trap.
In the 1990s we began collecting donated furs to distribute to
wildlife rehabilitators, who used the garments as surrogate
"mothers" to comfort injured and orphaned wild animals in their
care. Our staff also led efforts resulting in the passage of
state anti-trapping initiatives in Arizona, California,
Colorado, Massachusetts, and Washington. And our fight against
government support of the mink industry's advertising budget
paid off in an amendment to the 1995 Agricultural
Appropriations Bill to kill this multimillion-dollar subsidy.
That year we also worked with other groups to defend against
attacks on the European Union ban on the traps from the U.S.
and Canadian governments.
In the late 1990s, we launched Fur-Free 2000. Our new
campaign enlisted world-renowned designer Oleg Cassini and
Monterey Fashions—the nation's largest manufacturer of faux
fur—to promote Evolutionary Fur™, a synthetic material that
looks and feels like fur.
The nation is not yet fur-free, but it is—increasingly—free
from illusions about the animal suffering behind the fur
industry. And while we have made much progress, our efforts
continue.
