California governor signs law banning manufacture, sale of fur products

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) this weekend signed two bills making the Golden State the first to ban the manufacture and sale of fur products and the third to ban most animals from performing in circuses, according to NBC News.

Under the legislation, California residents are prohibited from selling or manufacturing shoes, clothes or handbags using fur, effective in 2023.

Fur industry groups, including the Fur Information Council of America, have threatened legal action against the measure, according to NBC News.

{mosads}The fur industry brought in $1.5 billion in U.S. revenues in 2014, the most recent year for which data is available from the Fur Information Council, according to NBC.

However, numerous major designers, including Gucci and Giorgio Armani, have already pledged to voluntarily end the use of fur. Animal rights activists have pointed to inhumane practices such as gassing and electrocution used on animals in the fur production process.

“California is a leader when it comes to animal welfare, and today that leadership includes banning the sale of fur,” Newsom, who previously made California the first state to ban fur trapping, said in a statement.

Direct Action Everywhere, an animal rights advocacy group, says it is working on similar legislation in numerous major cities such as Minneapolis and Portland, Oregon.

San Francisco and Los Angeles both imposed fur bans before the statewide law passed.