New Stockport Mayor Ken Holt made news in May by refusing to don the robes of his office during a swearing in ceremony because the robes were trimmed with ermine.
Holt said of his decision,
When I realized the mayoral robe was decorated with real fur, I refused to wear it and will not be doing so during my year in office. I am very much opposed to any cruelty to animals and have read recently in the press about the appalling cruelty to animals when furs is obtained in countries like Belgium and ares of the Far East.
A few years ago Holt made headlines by calling for a boycott of Stockport’s twin city in France, Beziers, to protest bullfighting. Holt says he is considering boycotting the annual visit that the mayor of Stockport traditionally makes to Beziers. Beziers said,
There are two ways of looking at it: either to go and make the point to our friends in Beziers while I am there or to make the point by staying away.
Source:
Fur fight as mayor refuses his robe. Manchester Online, May 2003.