Fw: [CN] Naked fur protest stuns Chinese

[Guest guest]

Wednesday, 23 October, 2002

Naked fur protest stuns Chinese

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/2353963.stm

 

[PHOTO]

[CAPTION] The two women braved the chilly Beijing autumn

 

Two Western anti-fur protesters have been arrested after stripping off in

a busy shopping street in the Chinese capital Beijing.

 

[CALLOUT QUOTE] " We are really cold out here, but this is nothing compared

to what the animals go through, " Kayla Worden

 

American Kayla Worden, 31, and Briton Yvonne Taylor, 29, were hauled off

in a police van in their underwear minutes after casting off red robes in

front of dozens of onlookers.

 

They had unfurled banners reading " We'd rather go naked than wear fur " in

English and Chinese, in protest at a fur trade fair due to open in the city

on Friday.

 

The two women are members of animal rights group People for the Ethical

Treatment of Animals (PETA), which believes that the fur trade is cruel

and necessary.

 

A spokesman for PETA later told the AFP news agency that he had had no word

of the two women after their arrest.

 

'Think twice'

 

PETA has staged several similar protests throughout the world, but this

was the first on mainland China.

 

" Cruelty is never in fashion and we want people to think twice before they

buy fur, " said Ms Taylor during the demonstration.

 

The protest attracted dozens of onlookers, but most appeared stunned by

the novelty of it.

 

The two women admitted to feeling the chill of the Beijing autumn.

 

" We are really cold out here, " said Ms Worden, " but this is nothing compared

to what the animals go through. "

 

Temperatures reached nine degrees Celsius in the city on Wednesday.

 

Freezing winter temperatures in northern China and strong trade links with

Russia make fur a thriving industry.