BOSTON, MA – DECEMBER 18, 2025. A new public opinion poll surveyed Massachusetts residents on animal fur (used in clothing, accessories, or home décor) showing that 67% of respondents are in support of a statewide ban on the sale of new fur farmed products. This support increased even further to 73% after respondents received more information about the fur farm industry. Majority support holds across party affiliation too, making the issue truly bipartisan.

The poll, conducted by the renowned market research institute YouGov, was commissioned by the Boston-based office of FOUR PAWS. The global animal welfare organization has been working to end the cruel suffering within the fur industry since the organization’s inception in 1988. Since then, the fur free movement has made remarkable progress, becoming more mainstream as fur clothing sales dwindle.

In October 2019, California became the first U.S. state to adopt a ban on the sales and manufacture of animal fur products. And within the past five years, eight municipalities in Massachusetts have enacted bans on the sale of new fur products. In 2025, FOUR PAWS helped to sign up 14 new brands to the Fur Free Retailer program, the world's leading initiative to connect fur-free businesses to consumers seeking ethical goods. Over 1,600 brands strong, the program unites the fashion industry in demonstrating that the unimaginable cruelty and suffering associated with fur is firmly out of fashion.

Earlier this month, the Council of Fashion Designers of America announced their new fur-free policy, which officially begins for New York Fashion Week in September 2026. The Boston Fashion Week has a strict fur-free policy in place as well. And most recently, Hearst Magazines (whose portfolio includes Elle, Esquire, Seventeen, and Cosmopolitan) announced their new policy that prohibits the promotion of animal fur in any of their editorial content and advertising. The same fur-free fashion announcement was made by Conde Nast (parent company for Vogue, Glamour, GQ, Vanity Fair and several other publications) for their publications worldwide earlier this year. These developments in the fashion industry, along with the recent news of Poland now becoming the 24th country in Europe to end fur farming, gives hope for a more compassionate fur-free future.

In light of the strong poll results, combined with the recent fashion media announcements regarding their bans on the use of fur in fashion, FOUR PAWS USA is urging the members of the Joint Committee on Environment and Natural Resources in the Massachusetts State Legislature to promptly release bills S.551 and H.990 with a favorable report out of committee. Both bills would ban the sale of new farmed fur products in the Commonwealth.

“Massachusetts residents have made their values clear on animal welfare, and the fashion industry is moving in the same direction," said Senator Cindy Creem (D-Newton), sponsor of Senate Bill 551. "My bill, S.551, reflects this momentum by advancing humane standards across the Commonwealth.”  

"Massachusetts has the opportunity to lead on the humane treatment of animals by banning the sale of farmed fur, and this survey demonstrates that we have the facts, the values, and the popular support on our side. It’s time to take action,” expressed Representative Jack Lewis (D- Framingham), sponsor of House Bill 990.

“There is immense suffering inherent to the fur farming industry. Massachusetts voters don’t want any part of it. This legislation gives our state the chance to uphold voters’ values and end the sale of products that are inseparable from extreme and unnecessary animal cruelty,” stated Preyel Patel, Massachusetts state director for Humane World for Animals, formerly the Humane Society of the United States.

FOUR PAWS knows – and has now proven - that Massachusetts residents wish to strengthen animal protection laws in the Commonwealth by banning new fur farmed products.