Tuesday was an uncharacteristically sunny January day in Eugene, and University junior Ciara Thomson, a political science major, took advantage of the weather by taking her clothes off outside the EMU. Thomson purposely wore just enough clothing so that she wasn’t breaking the law – an arrest would have kept her from speaking out against animal cruelty.
“I decided to (organize) this protest because I saw a lot of people walking around campus wearing fur,” said Thomson, a member of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. “I don’t think a lot of people know about the cruelty of the industry.”
Draped in construction paper and waving “I’d rather go naked than wear fur” signs provided by PETA, Thomson and some friends spent nearly an hour Tuesday protesting the treatment of animals – who are skinned, starved, injured by traps and rectally electrocuted – to make fur, wool and leather clothing.
“You don’t really have to be a vegetarian to believe animal cruelty is totally wrong,” said Michelle Rogelstad, a sophomore majoring in romance languages, who protested alongside Thomson.
Barb Lomow, a Eugenean member of PETA, happened upon the protest and picked up a sign in solidarity, though she remained clothed.
“(Animals) are at the mercy of how humans decide to treat them so we’re just trying to bring that to light, exploiting how they suffer,” Lomow said.
Thomson is from Lander, Wyo., a town of 7,000 “right in the heart of beef country.” She received hate mail from the University of Wyoming rodeo team after speaking out against rodeos in her homestate.
“Wyoming has a blatant disregard for all living things so I like to bring that message here where it’s more acceptable and easier to convey,” she said.
With the near-naked protesters yards away, local PETA member Curtis Taylor, who said “ugly people wear fur,” passed out leaflets featuring graphic images of mutilated animals and testimonials from anti-fur celebrities such as Pamela Anderson, P!nk and Sir Paul McCartney.
Most passersby cheered for Thomson and company, and gladly accepted the PETA literature, though one University student, Heather, accepted one and quickly dropped it on the ground.
“I’m wearing fur,” she said, gesturing to the trim around her jacket’s hood. “I don’t really care.”
Whenever anyone encouraged the PETA protesters, they offered one of their extra signs. When one University student said it was too cold to go naked, Thomson said, “It’s nothing compared to what the animals go through.”
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