Fur has been removed from House of Fraser’s stores after consumers voiced anger at the department store’s reintroduction of products that campaigners say lead to animal cruelty.
The department store banned animal fur more than a decade ago but the policy that was recently reversed under the ownership of Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley, who bought House of Fraser last year.
Just days after animal welfare campaigners and customers began voicing their anger at the move, House of Fraser performed another U-turn.
Jackets made using fur from wild, trapped coyote as well as factory-farmed rabbit and raccoon dog from China and fox fur from Finland, were no longer on sale on Friday.
Racks in House of Fraser’s flagship Oxford Street store that had been photographed full of real fur products earlier in the week had been replaced with other items.
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A fox at a fur farm in Pushkino, Russia
AFP/Getty
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Black and silver mink kits in a small cage at a fur farm in British Columbia, Canada, 2014
Jo-Anne McArthur / #MakeFurHistory
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A black mink chewing at the bars of their cage at a fur farm in British Columbia, Canada, 2014
Jo-Anne McArthur / #MakeFurHistory
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Mink kits lying atop a dead mink in a nesting box at a fur farm in Sweden, 2010
Jo-Anne McArthur / Djurrattsalliansen
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Mink crammed into a filthy cage at a fur farm in Quebec, Canada, 2014
Jo-Anne McArthur / #MakeFurHistory
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Injured mink kits at a fur farm in Sweden, 2010
Jo-Anne McArthur / Djurrattsalliansen
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“No leg”. Mink farm in British Columbia, Canada, 2014
Jo-Anne McArthur / #MakeFurHistory
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A mink in small cage at a fur farm in British Columbia, Canada, 2014
Jo-Anne McArthur / #MakeFurHistory
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Orylag rabbits at a fur farm in Vandre, France
AFP/Getty
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Mink living in cages over piles of feces at a fur farm in Sweden, 2010
Jo-Anne McArthur / Djurrattsalliansen
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An employee carries a blue fox at a fur farm near Babino, a village in Belarus
AFP/Getty
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Fox cubs at a fur farm in Zhangjiakou, in China’s Hebei province
AFP/Getty
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An employee carries a blue fox at a fur farm near Lesino, a village in Belarus
AFP/Getty
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Several mink, silver and albino, crammed into a filthy cage at a fur farm in Quebec, Canada, 2014
Jo-Anne McArthur / #MakeFurHistory
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Rows of filthy mink cages at a fur farm in Quebec, 2010. On a tip that the animals were being treated poorly, the Ministry of Natural Resources and the SPCA were granted a warrant to perform an inspection and seize animals from a fur farm in Quebec. They rescued and re-homed several animals, but had to euthanize many that were too sick, old, injured, dehydrated and starving. This seizure led to the first ever criminal charges against a fur farmer in Canada
Jo-Anne McArthur / #MakeFurHistory
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Pile of dead mink on old, broken cages behind a fur farm in Sweden, 2010
Jo-Anne McArthur / Djurrattsalliansen
17/20
A mink feeds off a dead fellow in a filthy cage at a fur farm in Quebec, Canada, 2014. Mink are solitary animals who fight, cannibalise and kill when in cramped confinement like this
Jo-Anne McArthur / #MakeFurHistory
18/20 Aerial view of a large fur farms in Nova Scotia, Canada
Nova Scotia, Canada, 2014
Jo-Anne McArthur / #MakeFurHistory
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Mink kits crammed in to a small cage at a fur farm in Sweden, 2010. The paper notes that there were ten in this cage and now two have died; eight remain
Jo-Anne McArthur / Djurrattsalliansen
20/20 Aerial view of a large fur farms in Nova Scotia, Canada
Aerial view of a large fur farms in Nova Scotia, Canada, 2014
Jo-Anne McArthur / #MakeFurHistory
1/20
A fox at a fur farm in Pushkino, Russia
AFP/Getty
2/20
Black and silver mink kits in a small cage at a fur farm in British Columbia, Canada, 2014
Jo-Anne McArthur / #MakeFurHistory
3/20
A black mink chewing at the bars of their cage at a fur farm in British Columbia, Canada, 2014
Jo-Anne McArthur / #MakeFurHistory
4/20
Mink kits lying atop a dead mink in a nesting box at a fur farm in Sweden, 2010
Jo-Anne McArthur / Djurrattsalliansen
5/20
Mink crammed into a filthy cage at a fur farm in Quebec, Canada, 2014
Jo-Anne McArthur / #MakeFurHistory
6/20
Injured mink kits at a fur farm in Sweden, 2010
Jo-Anne McArthur / Djurrattsalliansen
7/20
“No leg”. Mink farm in British Columbia, Canada, 2014
Jo-Anne McArthur / #MakeFurHistory
8/20
A mink in small cage at a fur farm in British Columbia, Canada, 2014
Jo-Anne McArthur / #MakeFurHistory
9/20
Orylag rabbits at a fur farm in Vandre, France
AFP/Getty
10/20
Mink living in cages over piles of feces at a fur farm in Sweden, 2010
Jo-Anne McArthur / Djurrattsalliansen
11/20
An employee carries a blue fox at a fur farm near Babino, a village in Belarus
AFP/Getty
12/20
Fox cubs at a fur farm in Zhangjiakou, in China’s Hebei province
AFP/Getty
13/20
An employee carries a blue fox at a fur farm near Lesino, a village in Belarus
AFP/Getty
14/20
Several mink, silver and albino, crammed into a filthy cage at a fur farm in Quebec, Canada, 2014
Jo-Anne McArthur / #MakeFurHistory
15/20
Rows of filthy mink cages at a fur farm in Quebec, 2010. On a tip that the animals were being treated poorly, the Ministry of Natural Resources and the SPCA were granted a warrant to perform an inspection and seize animals from a fur farm in Quebec. They rescued and re-homed several animals, but had to euthanize many that were too sick, old, injured, dehydrated and starving. This seizure led to the first ever criminal charges against a fur farmer in Canada
Jo-Anne McArthur / #MakeFurHistory
16/20
Pile of dead mink on old, broken cages behind a fur farm in Sweden, 2010
Jo-Anne McArthur / Djurrattsalliansen
17/20
A mink feeds off a dead fellow in a filthy cage at a fur farm in Quebec, Canada, 2014. Mink are solitary animals who fight, cannibalise and kill when in cramped confinement like this
Jo-Anne McArthur / #MakeFurHistory
18/20 Aerial view of a large fur farms in Nova Scotia, Canada
Nova Scotia, Canada, 2014
Jo-Anne McArthur / #MakeFurHistory
19/20
Mink kits crammed in to a small cage at a fur farm in Sweden, 2010. The paper notes that there were ten in this cage and now two have died; eight remain
Jo-Anne McArthur / Djurrattsalliansen
20/20 Aerial view of a large fur farms in Nova Scotia, Canada
Aerial view of a large fur farms in Nova Scotia, Canada, 2014
Jo-Anne McArthur / #MakeFurHistory
A store manager confirmed to animal welfare group Humane Society International that there was currently no real fur available on the shop floor at any House of Fraser sites nationwide.
Claire Bass, UK executive director of Humane Society International, said: “We are delighted to see that cruel animal fur products have been removed from House of Fraser’s website and stores nationwide.
“Mike Ashley has been hit by a tsunami of public protest, with thousands of messages from shoppers shocked and appalled to see this respected high street store turned into a House of Horrors, selling fur from factory-farmed rabbits, foxes and raccoon dogs as well as coyotes trapped and shot in the wild.
“British shoppers have sent the message loud and clear that fur is bad for business, and has no place on the British high street. We urge House of Fraser to publicly reinstate and uphold its long-standing fur-free policy.”
House of Fraser has not responded to a request from The Independent for comment.
Mr Ashley took over House of Fraser when his Sports Direct empire bought the chain last year, pledging to create a “Harrods of the High Street”.
Harrods itself has come under heavy criticism for continuing to stock real fur products for its upmarket clientele.
House of Fraser’s decision to reintroduce fur had been unusual, going against a trend for retailers to cater to increasingly ethically conscious shoppers.
In May, luxury brand Prada announced plans to ban fur from its women’s fashion collections. It had been one of the last holdouts before joining Gucci, Versace, DKNY, Burberry, Michael Kors, Jimmy Choo and Burberry in announcing a fur-free policy.
The UK banned fur farming almost two decades ago in 2000 on ethical grounds, but since then has allowed imports of more than £820m of fur from overseas, including Finland and China.
