PETA Takes Over Jean-Paul Gaultier Boutique in Paris

Shoppers walking by designer Jean-Paul Gaultier's Paris boutique got an eyeful when PETA activists stormed the shop's display windows, smearing the glass with red "blood" and waving signs reading, "Death for Sale," in a protest against Gaultier's use of fur timed to coincide with Paris' Fashion Week.

News of their action spread far and wide, appearing in TV and newspaper reports around the world and sending a clear message that designers like Gaultier must cut ties with the cruel fur industry.

Each year, millions of animals trapped for their fur are strangled, beaten, crushed, or drowned to death. Some animals, desperate to return to their young, chew off their own limbs in order to free themselves, only to die later from blood loss, gangrene, or predation.

Fur farms are no better. No federal laws protect animals on fur farms, so the animals spend their entire lives in cramped, filthy wire cages. After months of intense confinement, extreme weather conditions, and relentless boredom, animals are killed by suffocation, neck-breaking, poisoning, or genital electrocution. Sometimes these methods only stun the animals, who often regain consciousness while they're being skinned.

The Gaultier boutique takeover was the latest in a string of actions aimed at designers who have refused to stop using fur. During Milan's Fashion Week last week, PETA activists took over the runways of the Burberry and Roberto Cavalli fashion shows. PETA activists have previously stormed the shop window of Dolce & Gabbana and taken over the catwalks of fur designers Karl Lagerfeld, Oscar de la Renta, Christian Dior, and Prada, among others.

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