Contestants on the new season of American Idol would be well advised not to wear any fur, considering that judge Simon Cowell is a vocal supporter of PETA’s anti-fur campaign. A smiling Cowell appears in a PETA ad holding a dog and saying, “If you wouldn’t wear your dog, please don’t wear any fur.”

Cowell wants consumers to know that each fur coat, collar, or cuff means that animals have been cruelly trapped, drowned, or beaten to death in the wild or gassed, strangled, or electrocuted on fur farms. Fur is a relic of prehistoric times—when it was the only thing to keep people from freezing—whereas today’s lightweight synthetics, such as Gore-Tex, are much more versatile and efficient at keeping people warm. Faux fur or no fur is what’s in tune with treating animals with respect.

Charlize Theron appeared in a similar ad displayed on a billboard on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, and ER star Goran Visnjic shot an anti-fur ad for PETA that appeared in numerous magazines in the U.S. and on billboards in his native Croatia.

For more information, visit FurIsDead.com or watch our undercover China dog and cat fur-farm investigation narrated by Trent Reznor.

You can help Simon stand up for animals on fur farms by refusing to wear any fur. Sign PETA’s fur-free pledge today!