All American Idol Finalists Agree: Donatella Versace, Please Club Sandwiches Not Seals! 5/25/2004
From: Danny Seo, 917-543-1521, for the Humane Society of the United States LOS ANGELES, May 25 -- All 12 American Idol finalists, including the final two -- Fantasia Barrino and Diana DeGarmo -- have joined together to sign letters to fashion designer Donatella Versace urging her to stop using real seal fur in her designs. A copy of the letter is below. Joining Fantasia and Diana are Amy Adams, Camile Velasco, George Huff, Jasmine Trias, Jennifer Hudson, John Stevens, Jon Peter Lewis, La Toya Johnson, Leah Labelle and Matthew Rogers. To show their unifying support, all of the finalists also have black polo shirts with the phrase "Club Sandwiches, Not Seals." Photos of the finalists with the shirts are available on http://www.wireimage.com Canada recently announced that over the next three years, close to one million seals (mostly 12 days to 12 weeks in age) will be clubbed and shot to death. Seal hunt observers have noted that the young seals are often skinned while still alive. The Canadian government says that seals are eating too many cod -- yet, according to most marine mammal and fisheries scientists, this argument is not based on scientific evidence and ignores the real possibility that seals, which prey on other predators of cod, may in the end have a beneficial effect on cod stock recovery. Other celebrities who are supporting the Protect Seals campaign include Paris Hilton, Shannon Elizabeth, Christina Applegate, Nicole Richie and Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys. The official website for the campaign is http://www.protectseals.org/ The Humane Society of the United States is the nation's largest animal protection organization with over seven million members and constituents. The HSUS is a mainstream voice for animals, with active programs in companion animals, wildlife and habitat protection, animals in research and farm animals and sustainable agriculture. For nearly 50 years, The HSUS has protected all animals through legislation, litigation, investigation, education, advocacy and field work. The non-profit organization is based in Washington, DC and has 10 regional offices across the country. For more information, visit The HSUS' Web site - http://www.hsus.org --- Dear Donatella Versace: I am writing to ask you to discontinue using real seal fur in your clothing designs. I recently learned about your use of seal fur and I am appealing to you to please learn more about the issue and why it is totally unacceptable. For the past year, The Humane Society of the United States, the largest animal protection organization in the U.S., has been actively campaigning to end the brutal annual seal hunt in Canada. It is the largest commercial slaughter of marine mammals on the planet that will kill close to 1 million baby seals over the next three years. The Canadian government's own figures show that 96.6 percent of the reported 286,238 seals killed during the 2002-2003 hunt were between 12 days to 12 weeks old. These seals were beaten to death with a club or shot. An alarming number of the seals are skinned while alive and conscious. Recently, an independent, international team of veterinarians observed the hunt, and examined the corpses of skinned seals. They found evidence that up to 40 percent of seals were skinned while still able to feel pain. An observer of this year's hunt watched as a baby seal that had been clubbed suddenly woke up in a pile of dead seals. Obviously suffering, the baby seal cried and cried for about 45 minutes - the observer appealed to the sealers to put her out of her misery but no one did. I join millions of people who are appalled by the brutality and unsustainability of this pointless hunt. Even the Canadian government admits that the seals are not responsible for the region's crashing fish populations, which have been devastated by many years of industrial fishing. This is a commercial hunt for fur, pure and simple. You can learn more at protectseals.org. By using seal fur in your designs, you are endorsing the seal hunt. I simply can not wear Versace until I can be assured there is no seal fur in your collections. Please join the Humane Society of the United States by ending your use of seal fur. |