California spearheads kindness to animals, to ban sale, manufacture of new fur products from 2023

California will be the first state to ban the sale and manufacture of new fur products and the third to bar most animals from circus performances under a pair of bills signed Saturday by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

The fur law bars residents from selling or making clothing, shoes or handbags with fur starting in 2023.

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Animal rights groups cheered the measure as a stand against inhumane practices. The proposal was vigorously opposed by the billion-dollar US fur industry, and the Fur Information Council of America has already threatened to sue.

It follows Newsom's signing of legislation that makes California the first state to outlaw fur trapping and follows bans on sales of fur in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

"California is a leader when it comes to animal welfare, and today that leadership includes banning the sale of fur," Newsom said in a statement.

"But we are doing more than that. We are making a statement to the world that beautiful wild animals like bears and tigers have no place on trapeze wires or jumping through flames."

The fur ban doesn't apply to used products or those used for religious or tribal purposes. And it excludes the sale of leather, dog and cat fur, cowhides, deer, sheep and goat skin and anything preserved through taxidermy.

California will be the first state to ban the sale and manufacture of new fur products.

It could mark a significant blow to the fur industry that makes products from animals including mink, chinchillas, rabbits and other animals.

The U.S. retail fur industry brought in $1.5 billion in sales in 2014, the most recent data available from the Fur Information Council.

Fashion designers including Versace, Gucci and Giorgio Armani have stopped or say they plan to stop using fur.

Under the new California law there is a fine of up to $1,000 for multiple violations.

Animal rights groups have said animals may be subject to gassing, electrocution and other inhumane actions to obtain their fur.

 
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Opponents of the legislation have said it could create a black market and be a slippery slope to bans on other products.

The ban is part of a "radical vegan agenda using fur as the first step to other bans on what we wear and eat," spokesman Keith Kaplan of the fur information council said in a prior statement. He further said fake fur is not a renewable or sustainable options.

Meanwhile, California joins New Jersey and Hawaii in banning most animals from circus performances.

The law exempts domesticated dogs, cats and horses and does not apply to rodeos.

Associated Press