A West Vancouver luxury boutique owned by Jody Claman of Real Housewives of Vancouver fame was allegedly vandalized Thursday night for selling fur.
Claman said the storefront was splattered with paint and tagged with the letters ALF — which presumably stand for Animal Liberation Front.
But the reality-TV star placed most of the blame for the attack on her co-star and nemesis, Mary Zilba.
“It’s ridiculous.”
Claman said that, while her store, Glass House Couture, does sell fur, most of it is vintage or sourced from places such as Finland where animals are treated ethically.
“I don’t believe in killing innocent animals,” she said.
A note on the store’s Facebook page advertises fur and feather vests, pointing to numerous stars and celebrities who were photographed this fall wearing fur.
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West Vancouver RCMP said they are conducting a mischief investigation. An unusual odour prompted police to close Clyde Avenue for a few hours while HAZMAT teams investigated, but no health risks were found, said Const. Jeff Palmer.
“We have no suspects at this time,” he added.
An ALF spokesman in the United States told The Province he hasn’t been contacted by Vancouver activists claiming responsibility for the vandalism, but the letters on Claman’s shop are a good indication it was the group.
Several Vancouver stores that sell fur have been targeted by ALF in recent months.
According to the ALF website, on Christmas Eve the locks at Hills of Kerrisdale were glued shut as a “warning” to stop selling fur, leather, down and silk.
And on New Year’s Day an anonymous “communique” was posted to the website saying Speiser Furs was targeted by two separate ALF cells on the same night.
When one group went to glue the locks and past leaflets, another group was at the back of the store “using hypodermic needles to shoot a foul substance into the store through cracks in the door.”
The missive also spoke of another attack at Max Mara several days earlier.
Claman said it wasn’t fair that little comments made by others on the reality-TV show should affect her business.
“I am a human being,” she said.
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