7,000 attend anti-fur demos across Norway

The majority of anti-fur protestors gathered in the streets of Oslo for a torchlit parade on Saturday.

The events were coordinated by NOAH – Norway's largest animal rights organization and the protests have been annual events for 11 years.

NOAH’s march against fur has been an annual event for eleven years, and has become Europe’s largest anti-fur event. This year more people than ever attended.

The Oslo procession started at Youngstorget, then followed Oslo’s main street Karl Johans gate to the Parliament, where several famous Norwegians and politicians held speeches.

Siri Martinsen, head of NOAH, said in her speech: "We demand that the politicians listen to the people and the largest protest against fur in Europe. The only right thing to do is to ban fur farming in Norway."

Stand-up comediienne Shabana Rehman Gaarder was host for the evening and said that it was an honor to be the host of this event, which had so many strong speakers, who spoke to a huge crowd of committed people.

Speaking after the demo, Rehman Gaarder said: "Every torch lit a fire of hope tonight – a hope that it will soon be the end of fur farming in Norway. We all gave our promise to the animals tonight: We are never giving up!."

In addition to the main event in Oslo, NOAH’s march against fur was held in 14 other Norwegian cities.

"With this year's new record – both in the number of cities and in people attending – we gave a strong message to the politicians that still think it is justifiable to keep foxes and minks in tiny cages for the sake of their fur: We are more and more people who do not accept the injustice these animals are exposed to – and we are not giving up until the cages are empty," said Martinsen.