Fur Free Boulder gathers enough signatures to make the ballot

Jul. 12—An initiative aiming to ban the manufacture and sale of new fur products in Boulder has gathered enough signatures to make the ballot in November.

If approved, the Fur Free Boulder campaign, formally called the Humane Clothing Act, will make it unlawful to "manufacture, sell, display for sale, distribute or trade for monetary or nonmonetary consideration any fur or fur product" in Boulder.

It's the first time campaign organizers Brent Johannes and Lucy Heller have worked to affect change through legislation, and both agreed Boulder would be a good place to start.

That's because it is a city that strives to be ethical and open to new ideas, Heller said. Plus, she isn't aware of any businesses that manufacture or sell new fur products, so there wouldn't be a direct impact on any local businesses currently in operation.

Johannes and Heller thought they'd try their hand at local policymaking, but hope the measure will inspire action on a larger scale.

"If Boulder can be the first of its kind in Colorado, then that would make way for legislation like this to move forward in Denver or the state as a whole," Heller said.

For Heller, manufacturing and selling fur is an unethical and outdated practice. Animals bred and raised specifically for their fur are kept in cages that are small, and the animals often develop injuries and mental illnesses while caged, she said.

"Also the way that they're killed is often really brutal," Heller said.

The Fur Free Boulder measure includes a number of exceptions. It would not apply to used or secondhand items, nor would it apply to animal products other than fur such as leather or wool.

"We just wanted to focus on the fur industry itself," Johannes said. "We didn't want to take on anything too big."

The campaign organizers argue fur is purely aesthetic, a symbol of wealth and fashion.

The Humane Clothing Act, if approved, also excludes fur items that are used for sacred or religious purposes in Indigenous cultures, namely those that fall under the American Indian Religious Freedom Act and the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.

Initially, city officials said the petition was insufficient by 360 signatures due to a number that couldn't be verified. However, after the allotted 10 days to gather additional signatures, it was deemed sufficient July 2.

The Fur Free Boulder campaign opted for paper instead of Boulder Direct Democracy Online, the city's new online petitioning system. Johannes said the online system was more complicated, and the campaign didn't have the time or people necessary to walk every potential signee through the process.

There are two other campaigns — Let Boulder Voters Decide on the Annexation of CU South and Bedrooms Are For People — that also gathered enough signatures to make the ballot. The Boulder City Council will discuss the ballot measures in an August meeting.