A pair of PETA activists dressed up in Mountie red serge costumes and Stetson hats handed out fake tickets and pamphlets to people outside the Cornwall Centre during the noon hour Wednesday.
They dubbed themselves the “fashion police.”
“The tickets are just a warning but we’re basically just asking people next time they go shopping for clothing or shoes to check the labels, and if it says that it’s made from animals to leave the item on the shelf,” said PETA’s Emily Lavender.
The two women were looking for people wearing things like fur, wool, leather, down or exotic animal skins.
None of the exchanges got heated.
“The people that we’ve talked to are very supportive and interested in this idea. A lot of people don’t think about where the clothing that they wear comes from,” said Lavender.
PETA said many animals on fur farms spend their lives in confined spaces, are mistreated and abused by workers and are put to death in an inhumane way.
She said people like to help animals any way they can and said it’s easy to stop the cruelty in the fashion industry. Lavender recommends people buy and wear vegan clothes, shoes and accessories.