PETA blasts Turkish singer Tarkan for wearing fur

[**MegaStarkan**]

PETA blasts Turkish singer Tarkan for wearing fur
The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Asia-Pacific division has sent a letter to Turkish pop singer Tarkan, criticizing him for disregarding animal rights by wearing fur.
http://medya.todayszaman.com/todayszaman/2008/01/09/tarkan.jpg

In the letter PETA underlines that by wearing fur, Tarkan, whose song "Kiss Kiss" had hit the charts in more than a dozen countries, is supporting the torture of animals. It was also stressed that the image of Turkey would be harmed by allowing one of its prominent artists to be associated with cruelty to animals.
Senior officials from PETA stated that Tarkan should be called "Tarzan" since he seems to like wearing animal products.

PETA noted in the letter that it is opposed to fur products due to the methods used to obtain the furs. The letter stated that animals are trapped, tortured and cruelly killed by drowning or having their heads smashed. Moreover, some animals are kept in small cages at fur farms, and then they are either electrified or poisoned.

PETA notes that an undercover investigation revealed that millions of cats and dogs are brutally killed in China, which is the leading exporter of fur, and they are falsely labeled as fur from other species in global markets.

A statement from PETA campaign coordinator Cem Akın noted: "Each time Tarkan wears fur, he is contributing to the fur industry. Thus he is being a bad role model. Fur is the cruelest product of a bygone era. Tarkan has no excuse for wearing fur in today's world, which offers a vast array of fashion alternatives."

PETA has initiated a campaign called "Tell Turkish Pop Prince Tarkan to Stop Wearing Fur," advising the people visiting its Web site to take action against Tarkan by contacting him and asking him to stop wearing his furs.

Source: Today's Zaman (http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=131206)

[~Ashk~]

when did he wear fur???

[**MegaStarkan**]

when did he wear fur???
They mean the Come Closer album cover

[stranger]

was it a real fur , an animal fur??
how would they tell ??

then, it's been a long time ago now, why now??
Trakan doesn't need a scandal to spread his new album!!

[~Ashk~]

hmm...
good question, how can they tell for sure??

[**MegaStarkan**]

I think it's just a imitation.
Tarkan always says that he loves animals. So I don't think that he would wear fur.
They are overdoing things. I mean it's also stupid to criticize Tarkan by now 'cause this cover isn't up to date.
It's just publicity.

[Inge]

It is the policy of Peta to criticize a public figure like Tarkan for wearing fur, and thus creating a public debate about the use of fur. Probably it took a long time because so far no one had notified PETA.

Personally I agree with Peta that artists should not wear fur because they set an example. Probably the coat Tarkan wore was fake, but still this is not clear, and it looks like real fur so he still is setting a bad example. He never said in public that his coat was fake.

After the Cd was issued, on yahoo tarkanclub we had a poll which showed 44% of the fans did not approve of Tarkan wearing fur.
I agree with Kenan that Tarkan would not wear fur because he is an animal lover and he has already expressed his dislike for fur in a 1996 interview with Marie Claire magazine.
But I don't understand how he could be pursuaded to wear this coat on his album cover. Was it because he could not say no to the people of Universal?

I sent HITT productions an e-mail with my personal dislike of the cover picture, and with te results of the poll, back in 2006 after the release of Come Closer. They did not respond, but after that e-mail I have never seen him again in that coat or in the other one with a fur edge, that he wore to the chat session in Germany and the TV total show. So maybe he realised it was not well received in the fan community.

love, Inge