Photo: Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals
The scale of suffering caused by the fur trade has been purposely hidden from Canadians. Even people who already eschew fur don’t necessarily know the entire story (for example, that dog and cat fur is legal in Canada). Our nationwide silent vigils pay tribute to the animals who have lost their lives at the hands of the fur trade, either as targeted animals, or as non-target (or “trash” animals as they are sometimes referred to by industry). These trash animals include birds, endangered species, dogs and cats.
Demonstrators are entirely silent, and wear red scarves as a symbol of the violence inflicted upon the victims of the fur trade. We invite you to assemble with us, and honour the memory of all victims by publicly standing against fur. We also invite you to organize vigils in your own community and are happy to provide organizational support. So far, we have had vigils in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal.
If you’re here because you saw one of our vigils, and want to get involved, please get in touch!
(A very special thank you to Jo-Anne McArthur of the We Animals project for documenting the first vigil in Toronto).