Controversial LegCo member and former Secretary for Security Regina Ip has come under fire yet again for comparing the fur trade to the rearing animals for meat.
Ip made the comments after wearing an oxblood mink coat to a LegCo meeting yesterday. Ming Pao reports that, when asked about the coat, Ip said it had cost over RMB10,000 (HKD11,800) a decade ago.
The divisive politican, who is known colloquially as “Broomhead” for her former hairstyle, said she didn’t know why people were so opposed to fur, as it was “[just as bad] as eating beef”.
Ip later told Stand News that many believe eating beef is not environmentally friendly because of greenhouse gas production and deforestation, before adding that “all animal husbandry is inhumane.”
She continued, referencing unnamed American documentaries that “talk about how inhumane the poultry industry is”, before saying “[North American] mink farms rear a few million animals, which is actually environmentally friendly.” How, exactly, was not made clear.
Ip indicated that her detractors were behind the times, saying that a website called “Fur is Green” proved that mink farming could be more humane than rearing poultry or cattle. Hip Ip said “The trend has changed, they just haven’t caught up.”
Mark Mak, founder of the Non-Profit-Making Veterinary Service Society and well known animal rights campaigner, hit out at Ip for the comments, saying “Eating beef is nothing to be proud of, and it shouldn’t be encouraged either. But wearing mink coats is a thousand times crueller than eating beef. It’s shocking how shameless and ignorant she is, as a lawmaker. Today, she tried to justify unethical behaviour that not only harms animals, but hurts the quality of our civil society.”
Mak provided the contact details for Ip’s political party, the New People’s Party, and urged Hongkongers to express their views on Ip’s comments.
Ip had previously courted criticism for wearing fur, when, as Secretary for Security in 2007, she said animal rights activists had “no right to interfere with [her] human right”. Ugh, we can’t imagine what it must feel like to have such basic freedoms encroached upon.
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