B.K.S. Iyengar, the founder of Iyengar yoga, has written a letter asking fashion designer Donna Karan to stop using rabbit fur in her clothing. The ninety-two year old Iyengar said in the letter, “As a yoga practitioner, may I request you, on behalf of myself and my friends from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India, to take a stand against using the fur of animals that is removed by the cruelest killing methods.” (Source: Jakartaglobe.com)

PETA’s style of communication about Karan’s use of rabbit fur has been a little more aggressive than Iyengar’s. At a New York City protest, they reportedly blasted the sounds of screaming bunnies at people walking by–they also have an online petition to stop her. Rabbits apparently are mostly silent, except when they are scared they may scream. It is not at all likely to be a pleasant sound. Her Fall 2010 line used rabbit fur–you can see an example of a Donna Karan rabbit fur coat on her website. One version is nearly $5,000. Change.org said Karan’s rabbits are from China where they are treated brutally.

Sometimes they are kept in cages so small, they suffer spine injuries. This is just one example, the others are too grisly to mention here. WSPA has stated over 900 million rabbits are killed each year for their fur. Since there are plenty of reasonable alternatives to rabbit fur for clothing, none of these deaths are necessary. If you want to help rabbits, never buy any clothing made with rabbit fur. Doing so only keeps the companies who use rabbit fur believing it is a good way to make money, and continue killing an enormous number of rabbits for no good reason. It isn’t like Karan needs the money from selling rabbit fur clothing. One estimate said she is worth over two hundred million dollars.

Adapted from an article by Jake R.