Animal rights campaigners PETA have urged Cork Lord Mayor Tony Fitzgerald to follow the lead of their 'sister city' San Francisco and officially ban the sale of fur. 

San Francisco became the largest US city to ban fur earlier this year, and PETA have now called on Cork to follow its compassionate example.

PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) sent a letter to Cork Lord Mayor Tony Fitzgerald detailing how 50 million minks, foxes, chinchillas, and hamsters are raised in appalling conditions and killed for their fur every year.

Fur is DEAD 🦊🐺 #WearYourOwnSkin pic.twitter.com/UdTF5uHPHb

— PETA UK (@PETAUK) May 8, 2018

Read More: PETA demands Maureen O'Hara's furs not be sold

"Since so many people are turning their backs on fur, PETA is calling on Cork to take a step forward and ban its sale," PETA Director Elisa Allen said.

"By going fur-free, the city would join San Francisco in sparing huge numbers of animals extreme suffering and an agonizing death on fur farms around the world."

If Cork followed suit, they would be in line with top fashion brands such as Gucci, Versace, and Donna Karan who have recently gone fur-free.

BREAKING: Just ONE DAY after PETA showed the world what happened to goats used for mohair, @Anthropologie tweeted they "will not buy or produce products containing mohair" effective March 2019. @Forever21 needs to do the same! pic.twitter.com/ROSjRimfLP

— PETA (@peta) May 3, 2018

Read More: PETA asks Waterford Mayor to erect tombstone for chickens who never made it across the road

Read More: PETA's shirtless St. Patrick's Day ad deemed too hot by Irish parade organizers

San Francisco's fur ban will come into effect on January 1st 2019. It is the third Californian city, after Berkeley and West Hollywood, to ban the sale of real fur.