NEWS

Fur Free Galway Campaign would like to wish you all a very happy Xmas and a happy new year!

Stand saturday 17/12/2005

Again We held our stand at lynch's castle, shop street. Response from members of the public was again very positive. We added a petition to the chinese ambassador regarding the import of cat and dog fur from china for fur trims on garments. A member showed video footage of what this entails on a laptop on the stand. Most people found this footage upsetting to watch. We thank all the members of the public who supported us.

Meeting 14/12/2005

A shorter meeting this week. The next stand was organised. One member reported her findings from visiting some local shops. It was decided that we lacked the manpower and finances for the rather optimistic and costly approach discussed last meeting. A more streamlined approach involving just supplying a copy of our information leaflet and sending a follow on email with a link to relevant information on our site was suggested. The new much improved version of our information leaflet was shown and the member was thanked for all her hard work on it. The member in charge of the website took a few suggestions and agreed to update the site within the week. A few members stayed to watch a new video clip on the fur trade. Meetings resume in new year. Details will be on our local events page when they become available. Possibly wednesday of the second or third week of january

Stand saturday 10/12/2005

We held a stand at lynch's castle, shop street. Response from members of the public was very positive. We were especially impressed by the number of young people who responded. We thank all the members of the public who supported us.

Meeting 07/12/2005

The fur free Galway group met in the victoria hotel on Wednesday 07/12/2005 at 8.00pm. Members were shown the new website. Arrangements were made for the next stand. A letter was penned for the information pack which will be given to the owners of shops selling fur products. This caused some discussion as there were differing philosophies on how to word such a letter. The letter was eventually completed. This pack will give retailers the opportunity to learn about where their products come from. Having seen the information, hopefully they will decide for themselves to do the decent thing. If they choose to ignore this opportunity, they will be added to our list of persistent fur offenders and conscientious people can use this list as an aid in deciding where to do their shopping. The group are working on building up this list but it will take time. Hopefully concerned people will help us in this task. The proceeds of the previous stand were counted and a member agreed to take charge of the funds. The group would like to express their gratitude to members of the public who supported us.

Stand saturday 03/12/2005

A fur free stand was held on shop street on Saturday from 1:00pm to 17:00pm. Group volunteers handed out leaflets and imparted information on the subject of the fur trade and fur trims and their origins. Hopefully as a result some people will think twice before buying fur products as christmas presents. With any luck some concerned people will join the group as a result of this personal contact.

Meeting 30/11/2005

The fur free Galway group met in the victoria hotel on Wednesday 30/12/2005. We made lots of progress. Arrangements were made for a stand on Saturday. A letter was drafted to minister Mary Coughlan informing her about the group and its aims and questioning policy on fur related matters. It was decided to create a website as a point of contact and further information. It was decided that we would try to obtain a suitable domain name for the website. A member volunteered to create the website and set up a suitable contact email address.

Meeting 23/11/2005

The fur free Galway group met for the first time in the victoria hotel on wednesday 23/11/2005 at 8.00pm. Video clips were shown and a talk was given by Mary Anne from Compassion in world farming (see links page). Most people found the video quite upsetting to watch. A good discussion ensued. Afterwards some anti fur tee shirts, stickers and information were distributed and it was agreed to have the first organisational meeting on the following wednesday with a view to getting out on the streets and informing christmas purchasers on matters such as the nature of the fur trade in ireland and the truth behind the fur trim on their garments.