TOWIE's Pete Wicks details 'horrific experience' that inspired animal campaign

28 March 2023 , 11:34

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Pete Wicks is campaigning to ban fur imports and sales in Britain (Image: Handout)

TOWIE star and animal rights campaigner Pete Wicks has recalled a harrowing experience that led him to call for Britain to legislate a fur import and sales ban.

The government ordered the last UK fur farm to close its doors back in 2000, but is now importing fur from overseas and in an exclusive interview with Mirror, Pete explained how he came to be involved in the campaign to bring an end to these imports.

He said: "The reason I first got involved is I've worked quite closely with an amazing charity called Humane Society International and five years ago, I went out to dog meat farms in South Korea with them to shut down a dog meat farm and from that it kind of went into fur farms as well.

"I went to Finland in 2019 to see a fur farm for myself and it's possibly one of the most horrific things I've ever experienced in my life. The way the animals are treated is unexplainable, to be perfectly honest."

Pete Wicks has teamed up with the Humane Society International and Four Paws for the Fur Free Britain campaign

"It's one of these things that I think a lot of people see videos and see things online and they kind of put it down and say, 'Oh, I don't want to watch it.' Actually, you need to see how cruel this kind of trade is for people to understand why we're doing this and why it should be stopped," he continued.

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"After Brexit, we're now in a position as a country where we can make our own rules on it and it's something that I think it's about time that we did. So many Brits agree with the fact that we shouldn't be selling it I don't like the idea of wearing fur but we just haven't yet passed that bill so it's still available to sell."

The TV star recently visited the Houses of Parliament alongside Humane Society International and Four Paws, calling for legislation to to help make a Fur Free Britain.

Speaking about the visit, he said: "I've done some things in Parliament before it's always very strange. I don't think people expect someone like me to be in Parliament."

Pete Wicks has two rescue French bulldogs Eric and Peggy (Handout)

Pete Wicks recalled his "horrific" experience visiting a fur farm

Pete explained the campaign received cross-party support from MPs and over a million have signed the petition to ben the importation of fur.

"It's such a great campaign and especially for me, having seen it myself genuinely I can't even begin to explain the horrors [I witnessed in Finland. You just have row upon row of cages of cramped animals in tiny little cages with no floors except mesh bottoms and their feet are mangled, you've got animals that are cannibalising each other in these cages.

"Visually, it's awful, but nothing will prepare you for the sound it's like a sound of suffering."

For more information on the campaign and to sign the petition visit here.

Charlotte McIntyre