Four shops in Westbourne are among the latest to come under fire from protesters, a dozen of whom turned out with placards and posters.

One of the protesters, Jill Adelus, of Poole, said she had complained to Trading Standards and Defra (the Department for Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs) about goods she says she saw on display.

“To profit from that when there are so many fake furs around is a disgrace,” she said.

Twiggy criticises designers

Twiggy has criticised designers for continuing to use real fur at London Fashion Week.

The face of Marks & Spencer said she was disappointed in some designers who persisted in using fur from animals kept in “terrible and inhumane conditions”.

She said a new report from Animal Defenders International (ADI) revealed horrific conditions and cruelty at certified fur farms in Finland, which supplied UK designers.

She said: “I am very sad that some designers are still using real fur when the fake alternatives are so effective and so easily obtainable. Is it really worth this cruelty just for fashion’s sake? I don’t think so.”

Although selling fur is not illegal in the UK, the import and sale of products made from domestic cats and dogs was banned in the EU after investigators filmed the animals being skinned alive without anaesthetic in some countries.

In Britain, it is illegal to breed any kind of animal specifically for their fur.

Critics say much of the fur on sale in this country originates from countries where animals such as rabbits and mink are farmed and slaughtered in cruel conditions. They also claim that cat and dog fur is still being imported from the Far East, labelled with names such as Asian wolf (dog) or rabbit (cat).

Lonah Jelesen, the owner of two of the targeted boutiques, Lonah and Nineteen, said: “They have demonstrated seven or eight times. We sell what customers ask for. We don’t sell fur coats. We are selling rabbit, but it’s combed.”

The owner of the other two shops asked for her name not to be published, but admitted selling fur coats at her vintage and designer agency shop Arthur and Martha’s and mink teddy bears and fur-trimmed coats at Les Enfants children’s boutique.

“They came in with the Christian Dior winter collection,” she said. “It’s what’s in vogue. I don’t particularly go out looking for something that’s got fur on it. Next year it will be something else.”

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