LAID BARE: Why protestors stripped naked for animals in Barcelona, Spain

NAKED animal rights activists smeared themselves in artificial blood and lay on the ground in a busy square in Barcelona to protest against the use of fur and leather.
One of the demonstrators in Placa de Catalunya held a banner which read ‘How many lives just for one coat?’ during Sunday’s rally, organised by the international animals rights group, Anima Naturalis.
Coordinator, Cristina Ibañez, said: “The use of leather garments has been mistakenly associated with luxury and fashion and this is the thought that needs to be changed because if we manage not to have demand, there will be no supply.”
She added: “Currently there are many alternatives without having to take away the skin and life of an animal, such as ferrets, foxes, rabbits, seals, otters, cows, chinchillas, and in China even dogs and cats.”
Ibañez pointed out that annually more than 32 million animals are slaughtered for their fur in the European Community alone.
Since 2007, countries such as the UK, Italy, Austria, Croatia, Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands have been banning fur farms and increasing their animal protection regulations so that no member country of the EU can buy wild animals hunted with traps for fur production.
“But the ethical reasons that have led these countries to ban fur farms are not enough in Spain, which has become a refuge for fur employers due to its legal flexibility with animal protection regulations.”
In recent years, many major fashion brands have abolished the use of fur and animal skin in their collections. This September was the first time London Fashion Week featured no real fur on its runway.