Canada Goose Store Opening in SoHo Crashed by Angry PETA Protesters

SOHO, NY — There might have been more angry People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) supporters than excited customers at the Canada Goose flagship store opening in SoHo's shopping district on Thursday afternoon.

More than 50 protesters wore "bloody jackets" with their limbs "stuck" in steel-jaw traps — an attempt to represent the true origins of Canada Goose coats, which are made with coyote fur and goose down.

Protesters held up graphic posters outside 101 Wooster St., filled with photos of dead coyotes. "Here's the Rest of Your Canada Goose Coat," the posters said.

"Every fur-and-feather Canada Goose coat represents the terrifying and painful death of a coyote who was trapped, strangled, shot, stomped on, or bludgeoned," PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman said in a statement sent to Patch.

"PETA is calling on shoppers around the world to reject Canada Goose's cruelty to coyotes and shop vegan instead," Reiman said.

According to PETA's investigators, the wild coyotes trapped by Canada Goose can suffer for days and experience shock, blood loss, dehydration, frostbit, and more. Mother coyotes desperate to get back to their pups, PETA says, sometimes try to chew off their own limbs to escape.

Canada Goose sent Patch a statement from the brand:

"Canada Goose remains deeply committed to the responsible use and ethical sourcing of all animal materials in our products. We do not condone any willful mistreatment, neglect, or acts that maliciously cause undue pain, injury or suffering towards animals. We only purchase fur from licensed North American trappers, who are regulated by state, provincial and territorial wildlife government departments. We never use down from live-plucked or force-fed birds, and we only purchase down that comes as a by-product of the poultry industry.

PETA has sought to mislead consumers through a series of aggressive attacks that ignore strict government regulation as well as Canada Goose’s commitment to ethical sourcing practices and responsible use of fur. We respect the personal choice that consumers make in what to wear and hope that PETA would offer the same respect to consumers who choose to wear fur and down-filled garments."

Canada Goose reportedly opened its first-ever retail store in Toronto last month. The new SoHo store at 101 Wooster is the company's second flagship store, according to Business Wire — only appropriate, considering the brand has become a staple of wintertime NYC street fashion.

“Who knows about cold better than Canadians? And what better brand to bring that expertise to New York?” Dani Reiss, president and CEO of Canada Goose, told Business Wire. “The city has truly become our home-away-from-home, so I’m excited to show New Yorkers all that Canada Goose has to offer.”

Editor's Note: This story has been updated to include a statement from Canada Goose

Lead image via PETA/Twitter