Good Times Fur A Change: Morrissey Backs NYC Fur Sales Ban

NEW YORK — "Meat Is Murder" — and so is fur, according to Morrissey. The rock star and animal-rights activist has endorsed a proposed ban on fur sales in New York City, saying he'll recruit fans to help get it passed.

"It's time to rid the racks of the stuff in order to protect all fashion victims, both human and nonhuman," Morrissey wrote in Wednesday a letter to City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, who introduced the legislation.

Johnson's bill would bar city merchants from selling any fur apparel and fine those who do, with an exception for used fur clothing. If it's approved, New York City would join Los Angeles and San Francisco in passing such prohibitions.

Morrissey wrote to Johnson just before he kicked off about a week of performances at Broadway's Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on Thursday. The former frontman of The Smiths said he's asked People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals to get fans who attend the shows to push their Council members to support the ban.

The 59-year-old British-born rocker also noted that the United Kingdom's Parliament is considering a ban on fur sales throughout his home nation.

Morrissey has a long history of sometimes controversial animal-rights activism. The vegan singer has been known to ban the sale of meat during his concerts and once reportedly compared eating animals to pedophilia.

He's not the only high-profile backer of the city's proposed fur sales ban — the actress Anjelica Huston wrote an op-ed in support of it last month. The measure is opposed by furriers, who say it could kill jobs and businesses that deal in fur.