Fur flies as animals rights group protests Cindy Crawford
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-08-27 15:18

A major US animal rights group Thursday launched a public protest against supermodel Cindy Crawford, who it accuses of being a turncoat in the battle against the use of furs in fashion.

American top model Cindy Crawford poses naked with a cat and a fake fur Russian hat as part of a campaign against furs organised by the American association PETA in 1994. [AFP]

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) planned a protest later Thursday against the US beauty outside a Hollywood bar owned by her husband Rande Gerber to draw attention to Crawford's alleged betrayal.

The group is furious that Crawford, 38, who once formed part of PETA's public campaign against the fur trade, has signed on to appear in a fur-trade advertising blitz later this year.

Ten years ago, Crawford was the figurehead of the anti fur-coat protest entitled "I'd rather go naked than wear fur" and signed a PETA petition against fur coats and other fashion items.

But PETA says the model, who was once married to superstar Richard Gere (news), has turned her shapely back on ethical principle by agreeing to appear in fur giant Blackglama's "What Becomes a Legend Most" ad campaign.

To protest her decision, PETA members will Thursday gather outside Gerber's trendy Whiskey bar brandishing giant posters of Crawford's anti-fur photo emblazoned with the word "Sell-Out."

"When the Whiskey's patrons see how animals suffer in the fur trade, they're going to need a stiff drink," said PETA Vice President Dan Mathews.

In a letter sent to Crawford, he wrote: "This week, while you're busy airbrushing your pictures, we're compiling horrific video footage of a fur farm in Michigan that we recently investigated, which shows chinchillas struggling and screaming as they're plugged into a wall socket and electrocuted for their pelts."

The high-profile PETA has long waged public battled against celebrities who wear furs, which the group slams because of the violence it says is used in the killing of fur-bearing animals.

Earlier this year, the group named Diana Ross and legally-besieged domestic guru Martha Stewart as the top contenders for its annual worst-dressed list for wearing furs.