TWO Liberal Democrat councillors are set to propose a ban on the sale of real fur at all markets throughout Oldham.

Councillors Julia Turner and Chris Gloster will make the bid at the next full meeting of Oldham Council on Wednesday (September 12).

Cllr Turner said: “Regrettably customers often have no idea that they are buying products which contain real fur as they are often sold under the guise of ‘faux fur’.

“Real fur is sometimes used for trims on hats, gloves, and footwear, and pom-poms on hats and clothing. Although the UK banned domestic fur farming in 2000, it is still legal to sell products containing some types of real fur that have been imported.

“Imported fur can be very cheap, but it comes at a price of extreme cruelty to the animals it came from.

“100 million animals every year are killed for fur. Much of the fur we import into our country comes from China, where there is practically no animal welfare legislation.”

The Oldham Liberal Democrats want the council to become a signatory to the Fur Free Markets campaign of the animal welfare charity, Respect for Animals, the UK’s leading anti-fur organisation, and to work with the charity to ensure that no products containing real fur are sold at the borough’s markets.

Cllr Turner added: “I am sure that the vast majority of shoppers would be horrified to find they had accidentally purchased a real fur product knowing the abominable cruelty that these animals suffer. By working with the charity Respect for Animals, we can ensure that real fur products are banned in Oldham.”