Fur Protesters Take to Cages for the Cause

Jason Baker, a campaign coordinator for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, flew in from Norfolk, Va., over the weekend to direct an anti-fur protest in Dana Point, only to find someone else had already drawn first blood.

An unidentified protester slipped into a Ritz-Carlton reception for an annual gathering of fashion moguls on Sunday night and doused Gucci designer Tom Ford with tomato juice.

“She kind of showed us up,” Baker said Monday. “We were just tickled pink.”

Such is life in the world of political street theater.

On Monday, three local PETA activists--each wearing a donated fur coat--spent an hour in makeshift cages outside the hotel, hoping to draw attention during the Apparel Retail CEO Summit to what they see as inhumane treatment of animals. Two other activists stood by holding posters of support. It was one of about 200 protests PETA organizes annually outside conferences, fashion shows and retail stores.

“We want people to look at people in cages and realize that animals are suffering like that,” Baker said.

It was unclear whether the fashion leaders noticed. Traffic was light in and out of the Ritz-Carlton, and the conference schedule called for a buffet lunch on the grounds.

The conference was organized by Fairchild Publications, publisher of Women’s Wear Daily and other fashion magazines. A hotel spokeswoman said Monday that organizers had already left even though the event, which started Sunday, runs through Wednesday. Fairchild officials in New York could not be reached. Ford, whose designs are credited with reviving Gucci’s business fortunes, had also checked out, the hotel said. Gucci officials declined comment.

But the point was to make a point, said Carmen Pehnec, 42, of Anaheim Hills, who took time off from her job as a marketing consultant to kneel on the sidewalk in a chicken-wire cage.

“I’ve always loved animals,” she said. “I’ve always felt that they have rights too. They weren’t put on Earth for us to exploit. We’re supposed to be their caretakers.”

Passerby Jason Norton, 22, wasn’t convinced.

“I think they’re ridiculous,” Norton said, laughing and holding the skateboard he was riding to the beach. “I wear fur. I wear leather. I eat meat. I’m a carnivore.”

The street theater played a little better to an older couple who stopped their sedan briefly to offer a few words of support.

“You’re not as miserable as the animals, even though it’s got to be hot in there. I’ve been vegetarian for 25 years,” the driver said to cheers from the protesters as he pulled away.

Otherwise, the event drew little notice. Dana Point police cruisers made occasional passes. Other motorists on the lightly traveled Ritz-Carlton Drive slowed, some cheering and some jeering. A few feet behind the caged protesters, hotel landscapers went on with their work planting bands of marigolds at the base of six manicured palms under a washed-blue sky.

By 1:20 p.m., the television crews had left and Baker and the protesters began packing up. Baker made the cages--five in all--a year ago for about $50, and they’ve become almost as well-traveled as some of the fashion leaders they’re designed to haunt. Montreal a few weeks ago. Hong Kong a few months back.

Sometimes Baker gets to carry them. He made the Hong Kong trip. Other times they get shipped.

“The Fed Ex people love us,” he said.