So who are Soho Canada Goose activists really? ACTIVISTS continued from p. 9
tained.
know those things. So when a bird loses feathers or has a wound in that area that requires removal of feathers, it’s painful. Nerve and blood supply go together — and that’s where the blood supply is.
Defense attorney Nathan Semmel Originally from: Grew up on E. Third St., in Stuyvesant Town and Long Island Now lives: Upper West Side Age: 46 Job: Criminal defense attorney
V: What’s your ultimate goal in the Canada Goose protests? Kaplan: To see Canada Goose stop selling fur. Down has been around forever, and it has not been protested forever. People think, “It’s just feathers. They can collect them on the ground, and it makes a warm coat.” But I think you cross the line into frivolous fashion when you start putting a real fur trim on a coat that has absolutely no real purpose. They say it blocks the wind. You can wear a balaclava like they do for skiing or a hat that covers your ears. They want something that looks nice on their collar. As a vet, I’m vocal in my neighborhood. Every day, I approach at least five to 15 people that I see on the street walking their dog and say, “Excuse me. Are you aware that the fur on your coat comes from a real coyote? Do you make the connection between the coyote and your dog?” Or I say, “Take your hand and run it across the back of your dog. I’d like you to now do the same thing to your collar. Doesn’t it feel like the same thing? Because it is.” I have very good dialogue with people. V: What about accusations that the protesters on Wooster St. have been too loud at times? Kaplan: At times we were, yes. But since the police have directed us otherwise, we have toned it down. Personally, I don’t feel that it’s effective to yell at people, to sling four-letter words at them. Once you get into an argument, you’ve lost them. I’m a believer in the planted seed. Once you’ve gotten the word out and they’ve heard it, that’s where change begins. We discuss this in the protest group. We respect everybody else’s methods. And we learn from each other.
The triathlete Meredith Schriver Originally from: New Britain, CT. Now lives: Upper West Side Age: 31 Job: Senior court advocate at a nonprofit criminal justice organization (Came to New York to attend John Jay College of Criminal Justice)
V: When did you become an animalrights activist and why?
Meredith Schriver.
ing at vegan athletes. That started me to be more of a plant-based eater. Then, one day I saw a horrific video of factory farming. I just spent the rest of the day looking at more videos. From that day on, I was 100 percent vegan. But it wasn’t until last year that I felt the need to really get out there and do more of the protesting and make my voice heard. V: As an athlete, do you feel you get enough protein as a vegan? Schriver: Absolutely. Everyone told me I was crazy. People said, “You won’t be able to finish the race. You won’t get the protein and nutrients that you need.” But I actually found like I had more energy. I started running faster. It felt like less recovery time between big workouts.
Schriver: Because it’s Canada Goose’s flagship store in the United States. I think it’s so important to educate people about how inhumane they are, how they trap the animals and how they get the down for the coats. The majority of the people really don’t know that they’re wearing these dead canines around their neck. They think it’s fake.
V: How long will you keep protesting against the store?
Schriver: I became vegan three years ago. It started, honestly, not for the animals. It was more for health reasons. I was training for a big race — the New York City Triathlon — and I was look-
Schriver: As long as it takes. It’s not going to stop when winter’s over. They’re still going to be there with their spring line [much of which contains down]. I don’t think the down is humanely ob-
March 16, 2017
Semmel: To shut them down. But I recognize the fact that it’s a behemoth company. It will take a lot of awareness. That so many people don’t know [about the fur]. If you don’t know and you like the look and you want the status — because that’s really what the patch is all about, is the status, because everybody knows how expensive these coats are — so people want other people to know how much they are able to pay for that coat. The ultimate goal is to shut the fur trade down, to stop Canada Goose. It would be wonderful if the people of Wooster St., of Soho, if their gripe was with the store and its practices. We are the response to Canada Goose being there — not the other way around. V: How long will you keep protesting against the store?
V: What does that tattoo “269” on your inner arm mean?
V: What’s your ultimate goal in the Canada Goose protests? Schriver: I want to get the word out there. I want to educate as many people as possible. There’s so much cruelty that goes into every single coat. And I’d like to believe the majority of people don’t want to pay for something that’s so inhumane.
V: What’s your ultimate goal in the Canada Goose protests?
Semmel: I think, until it stops. Every single day we’re out there, we’re raising awareness. Even if the shoppers don’t walk off that line that day, they may go home and they may research it. They may look online and see the video of what Canada Goose does to animals.
V: Why do you feel the protest against Canada Goose is important?
V: When did you become an animalrights activist and why?
20
Semmel: It started really with fundraising on behalf of Farm Sanctuary [the Upstate animal-rescue group]. They’re a lot more than rescue — they do outreach, legislation. At the time I was vegetarian. I learned a lot about factory farming. In terms of protesting and street activism, I would say I started within the past year. I went to New York Law School in Tribeca. I was a prosecutor in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office for almost six years, and then switched sides. I’ve been doing defense work since 2004. In a lot of ways, there are similarities to animal activism — because there’s a feeling of the deck being stacked against who you’re representing, whether it’s people or animals. There’s a feeling of trying to do what’s right. I think the difference is, with my job, many of the people I represent have committed crimes, they have done wrong. That doesn’t necessarily mean they’re bad people. Or maybe they haven’t done everything they’re accused of doing. But in animal advocacy, who we advocate for haven’t done anything wrong at all.
with a woman coming out of a store in a full-length fur coat. But then you didn’t see fur forever. And then it started to come back, and now you see the fur trim — everywhere. That damn patch, that Canada Goose patch. They hide behind this story that “We don’t use fur farms. We don’t use live-plucked goose down.” But whether they use fur farms or not, the methods are barbaric. They can never guarantee that the feathers are not liveplucked. There are undercover videos from all over from places that swear that “this is humane,” that show that this is being done.
Nathan Semmel.
V: Why do you feel the protest against Canada Goose is important? Semmel: Long before I went vegan, the idea of wearing fur was just appalling to me. I remember in the 1970s there was a TV commercial, like, “You don’t have to pay a million to look like a million,”
Semmel: “269” is a calf that was born into an Israeli dairy farm. Like all others destined for slaughter, he had a tag number pierced into his ear. As an all-white calf, 269 stood out. He became a symbol of the animal-rights movement. His life was ultimately saved near his slaughter day. But by tattooing his number — the founders of the movement and hundreds of others are actually branded — we show our solidarity with the victims of the animal holocaust all around the world, remembering to never forget. Annually, more than 150 billion animals are murdered worldwide. People say, “I could give up meat. I can’t give up cheese.” What people don’t realize is the dairy industry is the genesis of it all, in a lot of ways. Because the male calf has no value ACTIVISTS continued on p. 22
TheVillager.com