COUNTYWIDE : Fur Salon Attracts Protesters

Animal rights activists staged a peaceful but noisy demonstration Friday inside a department store and elsewhere in the county as part of an annual protest against the sale of furs.

About 25 members of the Orange County People for Animals denounced the sales and purchase of furs, passing out pamphlets and blocking shoppers from entering the fur salon at Neiman Marcus in the Fashion Island shopping center.

“Our goal is to close down all fur salons,” said activist Jorge Belloso. “There are alternatives to fur. There is no reason to inflict pain and cruelty to animals.”

Another demonstration was held outside South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa.

Demonstrators at Neiman Marcus began by sitting in front of the fur salon’s cash register with poster-size photos of a skinless fox caught in a trap. While a tape of a squealing fox was played, other protesters milled through the store disseminating pamphlets. Others chanted, “Compassion is the fashion.”

Some shoppers passed by, grimacing at the pictures. Several customers scolded the chanting protesters that they were infringing upon shoppers’ rights.

“You guys are the biggest idiots,” said Earl Welliver, 59, a shopper from Texas. “You don’t have any right to be here. If I want to buy fur, that’s my right.”

Squabbles between some shoppers and protesters forced store employees to block off the boisterous crowd with clothes racks.

The protesters dispersed after about 30 minutes when police arrived. No arrests were made.