Taiwanese actress, Annie Yi (伊能静), shot a set of nude photos in an anti-fur ad for animal rights organization, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Asia. In the photos, Annie was completely nude and used her arms to cover her bare breasts, making an emphatic statement, “I’ll rather go naked than wear fur!” On March 8th, Annie Yi appeared at a PETA Asia press conference in Beijing, urging that all forms of life should be cherished and not sacrificed in the name of fashion and beauty. Confessing of her past ignorance on the cruel and violent practices of the fur farming industry, Annie admitted that she was a former consumer of fur garments. However, her perspective changed after watching a video depicting the gruesome process of how animals were skinned for their fur. China has become the world’s leading fur exporter, an industry that was valued at more than $15 billion worldwide. Since Chinese laws do not protect the welfare of animals in captivity, there were no penalties for Chinese fur farms practicing animal abuse. Clustered in eastern China, these fur farms were often family businesses. Subject to prolonged and intense stress, the captive animals paced nervously in their cages, panted in anxiety, and even resorted to self-mutilation and cannibalism. Each year, millions of Artic foxes, racoon dogs, mink and Reb rabbits were killed at these fur farms. Videotapes have emerged where the animals were thrown to the ground, kicked at, and subject to other physical violence in an attempt to stun them. While such violence immobilized the animals, they remained alive when they were skinned for their furs, experiencing an unimaginable level of mental and physical pain. Stripping naked in PETA Asia’s anti-fur campaign, Annie Yi hoped to enhance people’s awareness of unnecessary animal suffering. On her Weibo blog, Annie wrote, ”If people considered their bodies to be so precious, even assigning moral value to them, why do we only strive for beauty and not the needs of survival? Why do you peel the skin of other creatures?” Annie Yi urged consumers to consider the origins of consumer products and the value of life that may have been sacrificed in the production process, “If your beauty originates from decorating yourself with the killings of life, then this kind of beauty will result in a stench that other people can see! As a result, I think that true beauty emanates first from the heart.” This was not the first time that Annie Yi has stripped naked before the camera. The former teen idol also bared it all for a breast cancer awareness campaign in 2006. Unafraid of her recent PETA Asia ad sparking controversy, Annie urged more people, including celebrities, to not support the fur farming industry, while advocating for the ethical treatment of animals. Watch Video on Chinese Fur Industry (Contains Disturbing Images) [video=youtube;KBzaNAwkTKc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBzaNAwkTKc&"[/video] Creds: Jstars
