The Issues Aren’t Fuzzy for Young Anti-Fur Activist

At age 17, Geoffrey Kerns says he has lost count of how many times he has been arrested. But each time he is handcuffed or detained in juvenile hall, he says his voice for animals grows louder.

“Not many people speak for the animals,” said Geoffrey, who opposes cruelty toward animals, which he believes encompasses slaughtering for meat and skinning for clothing and accessories. “I am willing to do whatever it takes. Getting arrested is just a part of the cause.”

Already a veteran protester, who says he led demonstrations in August at the Democratic National Convention, Geoffrey’s most recent arrest came a week ago at the Bloomingdale’s department store in Sherman Oaks.

Because Geoffrey is a juvenile, police said they cannot discuss his arrest record, but his mother, Sara Zahn, confirms--and supports--Geoffrey’s activism, even when it means receiving phone calls from police informing her that her son is in custody. She estimated Geoffrey has been arrested at least 10 times in the last five years.

“The police are getting to know him,” said Zahn, who lives in Calabasas with her son. “They’ll joke about having him [in custody] again. And I’ll say, ‘Not again.’ . . . I’m proud of him. He’s out there standing up for what he believes in.”

At Bloomingdale’s, Geoffrey and three others staged their protest near the high-traffic cosmetics counter, linking themselves together at the neck with bicycle U-locks to protest the sale of fur.

“The locks were very uncomfortable,” Geoffrey said of the narrow metal devices that gripped their necks. “But we did it because [security and police] couldn’t move us without serious injury, and I’m willing to risk serious injury.”

Geoffrey said he and the protesters are not affiliated with any group but belong to an informal network of anti-fur activists. At Bloomingdale’s, they waved posters depicting graphic images of animals being skinned for garments and chanted slogans such as “Fur Trade, Death Trade.”

After a few hours, police cut the bike locks and arrested the four protesters, including Geoffrey and another 17-year-old.

The adult protesters were charged with interfering with business activity and delaying a police investigation, which are misdemeanors, according to the Los Angeles city attorney’s office. Citing confidentiality, officials declined to comment on the juvenile cases, but Geoffrey said he was charged with misdemeanor trespassing.

Representatives from Bloomingdale’s in Sherman Oaks and the company’s headquarters in New York did not return phone calls seeking comment.

But fur farmers, manufacturers and sellers argue that animals used for commercial products, including minks and foxes, are not endangered species and serve multiple purposes. Animal byproducts, they noted, can be used in cosmetics and pet food.

“It’s not like animals give their lives just for the fur,” said Judith Moss, owner of the Los Angeles Fur Center, a manufacturer near downtown.

Young Activist Rejects Violence

The International Fur Trade Federation, which represents 34 fur industry associations, said members generally support animal conservation and believe animals can be used to benefit society in a humane manner. The federation has also expressed concern about extreme and potentially violent animal rights activists.

Geoffrey, who says he does not believe in violence, made the choice to shun all animal products at age 12 when a friend’s older brother took him to a slaughterhouse near their homes in Idaho under the pretext that Geoffrey wanted to learn about careers in agriculture.

“It was awful,” Geoffrey recalled.

At 15, he moved to Los Angeles with his father and decided to focus his energy on protecting animals. He was arrested in Washington state in February 1999 for releasing minks at a fur farm near Seattle and served about three weeks in a juvenile detention facility, he said.

Legal Career Seen as Way to Advance Cause

Anti-fur activists go too far when they resort to economic sabotage, said Teresa Platt, executive director of Fur Commission USA, a group in Coronado, Calif., that represents fur farms.

“It’s no longer protesting,” Platt said. “It’s committing a crime. It’s not a free-speech issue. It’s people trying to force their opinions on others. . . . It can devastate a family running a fur farm, but in the global scheme of things it will have no impact. Some other fur farm will just produce more.”

Geoffrey attended various high schools but dropped out last year. He said he supports himself working at a medical company his mother owns in West Los Angeles and collecting monthly child-support checks from his father.

“Kids in high school care mostly about themselves,” Geoffrey said. “I was always the reject. I was always the kid who wouldn’t eat animals. I thought I had better things to do than worry about where to hook up weed for the weekend.”

Geoffrey said he would like to earn a diploma by taking the high school equivalency exam, attend college and go to law school, which would give him even more power to help animals, he said.

Elizabeth Gorda, 19, of Los Angeles called Geoffrey a source of inspiration.

“He’s dedicated and bold,” said Gorda, one of those arrested at Bloomingdale’s. “He’s extremely mature for his age, and he gets people thinking.”