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NYPD Arrests Spouse of Marc Jacobs VP during Anti-Fur Protest

March 2, 2024 by Leave a Comment


The News

The NYPD arrested the husband of Jennifer Sagum, a Vice President at Marc Jacobs, after he stole an iPhone from an animal rights activist during an anti-fur protest in front of the couple’s Brooklyn brownstone. Brian Moss, a partner at Coventry Real Estate Advisors, was charged with grand larceny, a felony.

Photo of Brian Moss, husband of Marc Jacob's VP Jennifer Sagum

Brian Moss, the husband of Marc Jacobs VP Jennifer Sagum, was arrested and charged with grand larceny after stealing the phone of an anti-fur activist during a protest at the couple’s Brooklyn home.

In an effort to resolve the conflict without making an arrest, the NYPD officer handling the theft made an appeal to the activist whose phone Moss stole. “He’s a professional. Honestly, he’s deathly afraid of being arrested and it affecting his career.” Moss works in financial services, an industry that is required under federal law to ban individuals convicted of felonies.

In response, the victim agreed to not press charges if Moss returned the phone. By then, however, it was too late. According to witnesses, Moss’s wife, Jennifer Sagum, had thrown the iPhone into a nearby sewer drain and could not retrieve it. After initially telling the police officer that he returned the iPhone to the activists, Moss acknowledged that he no longer had the phone in his possession.

Photo of Marc Jacobs VP Jennifer Sagum and her husband Brian Moss

During an anti-fur protest at the Brooklyn home of Marc Jacobs VP Jennifer Sagum and her husband Brian Moss, Sagum tossed the iPhone of a protester in a sewer drain after Moss grabbed it.

The theft of the phone and Moss’s subsequent arrest were not, according to the activists, the most dramatic moments of the two hour protest.  Before he was arrested, Moss dragged his young, visibly terrified daughter out of their house and down the front steps. According to the activists, he appeared to be using the presence of a child to demand that the activists terminate the protest.

Photo of Brian Moss, husband of Marc Jacobs VP Jennifer Sagum

Brian Moss dragged his daughter down the stairs while confronting anti-fur protesters at his Brooklyn home.

The protest was organized by animal rights activists in NYC in support of a national anti-fur campaign led by the Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade (CAFT), an organization whose campaigns have contributed to fur-free policies at several luxury fashion companies.

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Marc Jacobs is one of the few fashion designers that continues to use real animal fur. For years, advocacy groups have pled with him to switch to cruelty-free materials, as most other designers have done in recent years.

Photo of Marc Jacobs and his public statement about his use of fur

Fashion designer Marc Jacobs has refused to commit to a fur-free policy

In 2022, Jacobs told animal rights activists that he was no longer using fur, but, during a 2023 runway show staged in collaboration with Fendi, he featured a fox fur hat.

Photo of Marc Jacobs and a fox fur hat he designed

After telling animal rights activists that he was no longer designing with fur, Marc Jacobs showed a fox fur hat during a runway show

“On fur farms, wild animals suffer from the moment they are born until the moment they die,” said Tyler Bauer, an organizer with CAFT USA. “The animals spend their entire lives trapped in tiny wire cages, crammed by the thousands into squalid sheds, unable to take more than a few steps in any direction. This abuse of  fur-bearing animals must end.”

Photo of fur-bearing animals in cages on fur farms

Foxes, raccoon dogs, rabbits, chinchillas and other animals killed for their fur go insane from the lifelong intensive confinement in cages.

CAFT organizers say the nighttime protest at the home of Ms. Sagum represents an escalation of their efforts because the more measured tactics employed in the past have been unsuccessful in compelling Mr. Jacobs to implement a fur-free policy.

Photo of petition calling on Marc Jacobs to adopt a fur-free policy

Petition calling on Marc Jacobs to adopt a fur-free policy


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Animal Rights Activists Protest Kangaroo Leather In Dick’s Sporting Goods

September 18, 2023 by Leave a Comment


The News

As part of the global “Kangaroos are Not Shoes” campaign led by The Center for a Humane Economy, over 20 animal rights activists disrupted business inside of a Dick’s Sporting Goods, the country’s largest retail distributor of kangaroo-leather shoes.  While inside the store, the activists called shoppers’ attention to the “k-leather” soccer cleats on display and staged a die-in in the footwear department. After approximately 15 minutes, NYPD officers removed the protesters from the store. The protest continued on the sidewalk out front, where the activists educated Dick’s customers about k-leather and the large-scale commercial slaughter of wild kangaroos.

“Dick’s Sporting Goods claims to be ‘responsible stewards of the planet’, but trafficking in wildlife parts after fires wiped out hundreds of millions of Australian animals is the epitome of irresponsibility and greed,” said Wayne Pacelle, president of The Center for a Humane Economy, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group. “Dick’s should join Nike and Puma in pledging to stop selling products made from kangaroo skin.”

Photo of animal rights activists in NYC protesting inside of a Dick's Sporting Goods

Animal rights activists in NYC disrupt business inside of a Dick’s Sporting Goods store over the company’s refusal to stop selling kangaroo skin soccer cleats.

The protest at Dick’s took place just days after Hollywood actor James Cromwell staged a similar protest inside of an Adidas store in Soho, an upscale shopping district in Manhattan. As shoppers took out their mobile phone to record Cromwell, the Babe and Succession star urged them to make kinder choices, “Kangaroos are not shoes; they’re animals,” he said before chanting “Just Stop the Slaughter” while exiting the store with other animal rights activists.

Commercial hunters hired by soccer cleat manufacturers, like Adidas, kill approximately two million kangaroos each year, though that number will decline now that Nike and Puma have pledged to replace kangaroo leather with cruelty-free materials. The Center for a Humane Economy describes the kangaroo hunt as “the largest commercial slaughter of land-based mammals on the planet.” An estimated 40% of kangaroos are shot in the neck or body instead of the head, which often wounds the kangaroos instead of instantly killing them. Those who escape the hunters die slowly from their gunshot wounds or starvation. 

Photo of kangaroo leather soccer cleat sold by Dick's Sporting Goods

Dick’s Sporting Goods is the nation’s largest retail distributor of kangaroo skin soccer cleats

Some of the females who are shot have babies, or joeys, in their pouches or by their sides. Government guidelines dictate that hunters either decapitate or bludgeon the joeys to death. The joeys who are not in their mother’s pouch and escape from the hunters die from exposure and predation. Joeys have been documented returning to the site where their mothers are killed and standing next to the body parts that the hunters left behind. Each year, an estimated 500,000 to 800,000 joeys fall victim to the nightly kangaroo hunt.

Animal rights groups in Australia, which are especially protective of their native kangaroos, have staged kangaroo leather protests in several cities across the country. In recent months, European advocacy groups have also begun protesting kangaroo leather at an Adidas store in Germany, where the company is based.

Photo of Australian Member of Parliament Emma Hurst at a kangaroo leather protest

Emma Hurst, a Member of Australia’s Parliament, speaks to advocates during a kangaroo leather protest.

“Chasing down terrified kangaroos in the dark of night and stealing their skin to make soccer cleats is among the worst wildlife crimes on the planet,” said Edita Birnkrant, executive director of NYCLASS, a NYC-based animal rights organization. “Dick’s knows that the shoes on their shelves are a product of extreme cruelty and is prioritizing profits ahead of decency.”

Photos of animal rights activists protesting Dick's over its refusal to stop selling kangaroo leather soccer cleats

Animal rights activist protest inside of a Dick’s Sporting Goods in NYC over the company’s refusal to stop selling kangaroo skin soccer cleats.

In 2023, U.S. lawmakers introduced a bill that would ban the sale of any kangaroo parts. If passed, the Kangaroo Protection Act would close off one of the world’s largest markets for kangaroo parts and dramatically curb the commercial slaughter of kangaroos.


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Animal Rights Activists Disrupt Nike’s Flagship Store in NYC over Sale of Kangaroo Skin

March 17, 2022 by Leave a Comment


The News

Animal rights activists staged a disruption inside of Nike’s flagship store in New York City as part of a “Global Protest Day” against the company’s support of the mass slaughter of kangaroos for soccer shoes. Organized by the Center for A Humane Economy, a Washington-D.C.-based advocacy group leading a campaign to end the use of kangaroo leather, the protest called on Nike to stop hunting kangaroos and stealing their skin.

After chanting on megaphones for 30 minutes and distributing information to customers, the activists exited the store, with prodding by the NYPD, and unfurled a banner at the entrance – “NIKE PROFITS. KANGAROOS DIE.”  The protest continued on Fifth Avenue, where activists engaged with customers and pedestrians.

Animal rights activists with the Center for a Humane Economy, NYCLASS and TheirTurn protest Nike's use of kangaroo skin at the company's flagship store in Manhattan

Animal rights activists with the Center for a Humane Economy, NYCLASS and TheirTurn protest Nike’s use of kangaroo skin at the company’s flagship store in Manhattan

As part of the Global Protest Day, animal rights groups also staged #KangaroosAreNotShoes disruptions in Portland, Oregon, where Nike is headquartered, and in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra and Adelaide.

As part of the “Global Protest Day” against Nike’s support of the mass slaughter of kangaroos in Australia, animal rights activists in Portland staged a #KangaroosAreNotShoes protest at a Nike store near the company’s global headquarters.

The massacre of kangaroos in Australia represents the largest slaughter of land-based wildlife in the world. According to the Center for a Humane Economy, approximately two million kangaroos are killed each year for commercial purposes. Seventy percent of them are used to make soccer shoes.

Nike make soccer shoes from the skin of kangaroos in Australia who are hunted down at night and shot in the head

Animal rights groups argue that killing wild kangaroos is especially cruel because an estimated 40% of the victims don’t die instantly. In some cases, the wounded kangaroos escape and die slowly from the gunshot.

Each year, hunters in Australia kill an estimated approximately two million kangaroos for commercial purposes.

The mass killing has secondary victims. When mothers are shot, their babies (joeys) typically don’t die with them. In accordance with government guidelines, the hunters bludgeon them to death. Some of the babies escape, only to die slowly from exposure and predation. Each year, hundreds of thousands of joeys die during the nightly kangaroo hunt.

“Slaughtering mothers and their babies in the dark of night is an atrocity,” said Edita Birnkrant, the Executive Director the animal rights group NYCLASS and an organizer of the NYC disruption. “How do Nike executives sleep at night knowing how much pain and suffering they are causing?”

Nike supports the mass slaughter of wild kangaroos in order to use their skin to make soccer cleats

According to The Center for a Humane Economy, Nike rationalizes the mass slaughter of wild kangaroos by engaging in green washing and humane washing. Nike states, “Suppliers must source animal skins from processors that use sound animal husbandry and humane animal treatment/slaughtering practices whether farmed, domesticated or wild (managed) . . . If wild caught, [kangaroos] must be sourced from actively managed populations with government agency oversight.”

Animal rights activists, including young children and senior citizens, disrupted business in Nike’s flagship store in NYC over the company’s support of the mass slaughter of kangaroos to make soccer cleats

The sale of kangaroo parts is banned in California. The Kangaroo Protection Act, federal legislation introduced in 2021, would ban their sale nationwide. Several retailers, including Nordstrom, Gucci, Prada, and Versace, have stopped selling kangaroo skin products.


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PETA Protests Canada Goose at Flagship Store and Saks Fifth Avenue in NYC

March 10, 2021 by Leave a Comment


The News

As part of a “Week of Action” targeting Canada Goose over its use of coyote fur and goose feathers, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) staged protests at the company’s flagship store in Soho and at the department store Saks Fifth Avenue, which sells Canada Goose apparel.

In a statement to the media, PETA wrote, “Cruelty can be found in every stitch of Canada Goose’s jackets and other clothing items. Coyotes used for the company’s fur trim can suffer in painful steel traps indefinitely before they’re killed. Mothers desperate to get back to their pups have attempted to chew off their own limbs to escape. Ducks and geese suffer for down as well—no matter their origin. Birds used for their down are inevitably sent to the slaughterhouse, where standard practice is to hang them upside down, stun them, and then slit their throats.”

Canada Goose traps and kills coyotes for their fur and plucks and slaughters geese for their feathers.

On April 22, 2020, the New York Times reported that Canada Goose would stop buying fur from trappers starting in 2022. It would instead use reclaimed fur, which the company describes as fur that “already exists in its supply chain and the marketplace.”  As part of its plan, Canada Goose said it would buy back the fur trim from its customers’ coats and recycle it.  In a public statement, the company said that its decision was made to reduce the company’s carbon footprint, not in response to the demands of PETA and other animal rights groups.

In April 2020, the New York Times reported that Canada Goose would stop selling “new” fur in 2020.

The announcement, which was met with skepticism and confusion by the animal rights community, did not stop the protests at Canada Goose. After the initial pandemic lockdown in NYC, grass roots animal rights groups resumed protesting at the store.  In October 2020, the Coaltion to Abolish the Fur Trade (CAFT) began protesting at Saks Fifth Avenue over its refusal to stop selling Canada Goose and other other fashion labels that use real animal fur.

Animal rights activists with PETA protest at the Canada Goose store in NYC

“Hundreds of major retailers, including Paragon Sports and KITH in NYC,  have announced that they would stop selling fur,” said Rachel Levy, an organizer of the Week of Action Protests. “Canada Goose, however, has stated that it will continue to sell it. In 2021, when so many fashionable, functional alternatives exist, no clothing manufacturer should be using real fur.”

Animal rights activists with PETA and the Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade (CAFT) stage an anti-fur protest at Saks Fifth Avenue

PETA stops traffic in front of Saks Fifth Ave. as part of an anti-fur protest targeting the store.


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Animal Rights Activists Protest Canada Goose’s Flagship Store in NYC

February 26, 2020 by Leave a Comment


The News

Animal rights activists with Total Liberation New York confronted dozens of pedestrians wearing fur while staging a protest at the Canada Goose’s flagship store in Soho, New York City. Canada Goose, a luxury outerwear company, has been a target of anti-fur activists for several years because it uses coyote fur as a decorative trim on its popular winter coats and claims that the animals are “ethically sourced.”

“At a time when the mainstream public was moving away from fur, Canada Goose normalized wearing it again,” said Shay Navon, a protest organizer with Total Liberation New York. “To make matters worse, the Company preys on its customers good intentions, making them feel good about purchasing fur by claiming that the animals slaughtered for the coats were treated humanely.”

Canada Goose decorates the hoods of its winter coats with the fur of coyotes who are captured in steel leg hold traps and shot in the head

In 2019, the Federal Trade Commission threatened to take false advertising enforcement action against Canada Goose over its claims about animal sourcing, but it decided against it because the company took “corrective action.” Nevertheless, Canada Goose continues to claim on its website that the animals slaughtered for their coats are treated humanely.

On its website, Canada Goose claims that the coyotes and geese slaughtered for its coats are treated humanely

Animal rights activists have been protesting Canada Goose stores in its North American and London retail stores, at the Company’s corporate headquarters in Toronto and at the home of owner, Dani Reiss.

Anti-fur activists protest at the Canada Goose store in New York City


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