Fur flies in Coleen row

When Wayne Rooney's loose tongue gets him into trouble, he can at least let his boots do the talking.

His fiancèe Coleen McLoughlin, however, has no such luxury.

Her boots, made using rabbit fur, have brought her into conflict with the animal rights lobby and earned her a place at the top of a hitlist created by the extremist Animal Liberation Front.

Now, in a less than fully-informed defence of her footwear, she has made matters worse

In an interview published to launch a column she will write in Closer magazine, Miss McLoughlin spoke up for the Mukluk boots she is often pictured wearing.

'Rabbits get killed for food, so why waste the skins?' she said.

But her words only appear to have exacerbated the case against her and brought more adversaries on board. The more moderate pressure group, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals accused her of 'talking nonsense'.

'Rabbits are specifically bred for the fur industry and they are kept confined to painfully small boxes,' said spokesman Sean Gifford.

'At the end of their miserable lives they have their necks broken or their skulls smashed.'

Further personalising the attack, he added: 'While Wayne is known for his on-pitch swearing, Coleen too will become famous for the trash coming out of her mouth. She is cruel and cold-hearted.' There is

substantial support for the charity's view. A recent United Nations report on the subject said that few skins were now recovered from slaughterhouses and as many as 70million rabbits a year were killed for their fur.

Miss McLoughlin, 19, has taken a carefree approach to animal products since coming to public attention as girlfriend of the Manchester United and England star.

Earlier this year, she was pictured arriving at Old Trafford, clutching a £1,000 designer handbag made from the skins of five pythons.

It is said to be one of two snakeskin bags she owns.

And on a recent trip to Paris, she wrapped up in a £1,300 parka jacket lined with fur produced from the hides of 25 chinchillas and minks.