Protesters stand against animal cruelty

A group of vegan animal rights supporters gathered outside of Lazares Fur & Co. on Ouellette Avenue Wednesday to protest the use of real animal fur.

“I became aware of how animals are treated, and I had to stand up against it,” said protester Josh Atkins.

“Ask anybody, they would do the same. It’s an injustice and we need help standing up against it.”

The activists organized through The Save Movement, an international network of more than 300 animal rights and vegan advocacy groups from North America and Europe.

The Save Movement was founded in 2010 after the first Toronto Pig Save, in which activists stood and held up signs while animals were delivered to slaughterhouses.

It’s not always the actions done to the animals that’s the problem, said activists, but the way in which those actions are carried out.

“Sheep do need to be sheared, however, if you shear a sheep in a kind way it can take an hour to two hours,” said protester Holly Brunelle.

“In the sheep-shearing industry they’re paid by the sheep,  they do it as fast as they can and quite roughly so they’re hard on the animals, they’re abusive to the animals.”

Lazares uses real fur products of animals such as mink, beaver, raccoon, rabbit, lynx, fox, lamb, sable, and chinchilla.

The company declined to comment on the protest.