Friends of Animals posted an open letter to figure skater Johnny Weitz after he wore a costume with fox fur at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships earlier this month. The letter criticized him for sporting fur and asked Weitz to stop wearing fur.
The animal rights group also contacted Weitz’s costume designer, Stephanie Handler.
"I totally get the dirtiness of the fur industry and how terrible it is to animals. But it's not something that's the No. 1 priority in my life," Weir said in an Associated Press report. "There are humans dying everyday. There are thousands if not millions of homeless people in New York City. Look at what just happened in Haiti.
"I tend to focus my energy, if there is a cause, on humans. While that may be callous and bad of me, it's my choice."
The Associated Press reports that Friends of Animals is not the only animal rights group to contact Weitz. He has gotten letters from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and people have sent him videos depicting how animals are treated by the fur industry.
Weitz asked that groups do not contact his designer because she was just doing what he asked.
Weitz, known for his unique skating costumes, finished third at the U.S. Championships, where the scandal erupted, qualifying for his second Olympics.
He was in position for a silver medal at the 2006 Olympics heading into the long program, but Weitz wound up skating a less than stellar performance and missing out on medaling. Weitz’s final hopes for an Olympic medal are at Vancouver.
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