BAN FUR TRADE
SAYS THE MAN WHO USED TO BE IN CHARGE OF IT
AS BOSS of the fur industry, Mike Moser spent a decade promoting the trade – but he has now revealed he quit because he could no longer defend its barbaric practices.
The 64-year-old told how he had been struggling with his conscience for a while as he grew more and more angry at the appalling conditions suffered by helpless caged animals.
And Mike said getting his own pet dog was the moment he realised he could no longer carry on in his role and wanted the fur trade banned.
In an astonishing change of heart, he is now joining our sister paper the Daily Mirror’s Fur Free Britain campaign to outlaw sales in the UK, after an investigation highlighting horrific cruelty on Asian fur farms reduced him to tears.
Mike said: “When I was asked to back the Fur Free Britain campaign, I didn’t hesitate.
“It is morally inconsistent to ban the means of fur production in this country but to allow it to be produced elsewhere and then sold in the UK.
“The trade is under attack because the ordinary person thinks it is no longer acceptable to cage animals for life and kill them for a product that only has vanity value. It is anachronistic. An industry out of date.”
Mike worked for the International Fur Federation before becoming British Fur Trade Association chief executive.
As the public face of the industry, he travelled to farms across the world and appeared on TV to promote the trade he oversaw.
He said he expects to be called a hypocrite but believes it is never too late to change your opinions.
Mike admitted his wife Sophie, family and friends were relieved when he quit.
He added: “I am not going to apologise for the job I did. The only regret I have is I didn’t leave sooner.
“I am 64 now. It is never too late to change. If people want to call me a hypocrite, that’s fine. But when the facts and the science changes, we all should be ready to change too.”
Mike said the reasons that led him to resign in January 2019 were a mix of concerns.
He added: “I had been really uncertain for at least a couple of years.
“It felt like I was in a marriage that was going wrong. Your partner starts to behave unreasonably, yet you put up with it. And then one day
Defending the practices of caging mink and foxes all their lives troubled me MIKE ON HOW HE STRUGGLED WITH HIS CONSCIENCE ON FUR
you just decided you can’t tolerate it any longer.
“I realised the concerns I had about the welfare [of animals] could not change bebecause it is systemic to the way fur is pproduced.
“This coincided with when my pet dog Barney came to live with me in 2015. I really started to adore this dog. It then hit me how inconsistent this was.
“Showering this dog with love then defend the practices of caging mink and foxes for their entire lives. It really troubled me.
“That was the beginning of me realising that I could no longer do this.
“Another moment was a trip to a farm and seeing racoon dogs in a cage. It was horrible.”
Mike admitted debates with Humane Society International/UK executive director Claire Bass on TV slots such as the Victoria Derbyshire Show contributed to his change of heart.
He said: “I genuinely found I was increasingly feeling empathetic to her points more than my own.”
In July, the Mirror and Humane Society International/UK exposed horrific conditions on Asian fur farms, including scenes of animals being skinned alive or battered to death.
Mike said: “Watching the footage reduced me to tears. I do not understand what it takes in a human being to do those things in the name of fur. There is no way you can defend that.”
Mike said the arguments used to defend welfare standards are flawed.
He added: “Cage sizes have not changed since 1999 yet fur farmers have increased the size of animals.”
Claire said: “I fully respect Mike’s change of heart, and he now has an important and powerful message for the Government. If someone like him with a decade’s experience in the fur industry says it’s right to ban fur sales, then it’s time to take action.
“It doesn’t surprise me Mike’s love for Barney was at the heart of his epiphany that caging and killing animals for their fur is wrong.”