Why We Must Stop Wearing Fur
The global fur industry is worth more than $40 billion annually, with the majority of profits coming from Asia. The industry is dominated by a small number of large players, many of whom are based in Asia. This has led to a concentration of production in countries with low labour costs and little regard for animal welfare.
In recent years, there has been growing concern about conditions in the fur industry worldwide. From tanneries to slaughterhouses, animals are subject to terrible cruelty and abuse. In response, there has been an increase in initiatives and products that support ethical practices and fair trade principles. This article explains everything you need to know about the fur industry today – including its impact on animals, and the environment
In the 21st century, fur is still being worn as clothing, as though history has not moved forward. People can no longer justify using the skin of animals for this purpose, particularly given that viable alternatives exist. Unfortunately, the fur industry is still going strong and shows no signs of slowing down.
The devastating cost of fur is the millions of innocent animals senselessly slaughtered each year for their fur. The process of obtaining said fur is often downright barbaric, with creatures kept in cramped cages, suffering through unimaginable pain and torture.
Not only that, but the fur industry has an alarmingly destructive effect on the environment as well. Fur coats require a dangerous amount of non-renewable energy and resources to produce, with the entire process resulting in immeasurable pollution.
The fur industry has had a long-lasting impact on the economy. The materials and labour required to produce fur clothes and accessories are expensive, and the industry brings employment to hundreds of thousands of people around the globe.
At the same time, fur production has a devastating effect on the environment. The animals that are bred, hunted and trapped to create these products suffer immense pain and suffering, and their populations have dwindled due to the demand for fur clothing. The environmental cost of the fur trade is far too high, and it is a moral issue that we must face. The environmental cost of the fur trade is the impact that it has on the animals that are hunted and trapped. These animals are often killed in cruel ways, and their populations are declining as a result.
The cruelty of the fur trade has brought devastation to the world’s animals. In the fur farms, creatures are forced to endure cramped conditions and unspeakable suffering, unable to escape the torment that awaits them. Their cries of distress aren’t heard, going unanswered as they’re subjected to painful, barbaric practices of killing and torture. With no consideration for their wellbeing, the animal welfare cost of the fur trade is nothing less than a tragedy.
Five species are brutally farmed and exploited around the world for their fur – their screams echoing through the stillness of the night. Wild animals are often savagely hunted and subjected to agonising deaths through drowning or electrocution, all to maintain their fur in its pristine condition. The five species cruelly abused around the world are:
American Mink (Neovison vison)
Mink is a semi-aquatic mustelid native to North America. Their range has been extended to Europe and South America by humans. In 2006, they were introduced to Australia. Mink are carnivores that feed on rodents, fish, crustaceans, frogs, and birds. Around 50 million mink die every year to feed the fur industry. They are bred once a year in early spring and give birth to their litters in May. The average litter is three to four kits. The kits are vaccinated for botulism, distemper, enteritis, and pneumonia. The best kits are kept for breeding stock for the next year and the rest are killed in November and December for their fur
Chinchilla (Chinchilla chinchilla) and (Chinchilla lanigera)
The Chinchilla is a charming creature of the plains. Their cheek pouches expand to store food and resemble goldfish cheeks. Chinchillas are crepuscular, which means they are most active at dawn and dusk during the night. The Chinchilla chinchilla has a shorter tail, a thicker neck and shoulders, and shorter ears than the Chinchilla lanigera. In their native habitats, chinchillas live in burrows or crevices in rocks. They are agile and can jump up to 6ft (1.8m). In the wild, chinchillas eat plants, leaves, fruits, seeds, and small insects. They live in social groups called herds. Their herd sizes can range from 14 members up to 100. This is both for social interaction as well as protection from predators
Predators in the wild include birds of prey, skunks, felines, and snakes Chinchillas have a variety of defensive tactics, including spraying urine and releasing fur if bitten. They can breed any time of the year. Their gestation period is 111 days, longer than most rodents. Due to this long pregnancy, chinchillas are born fully furred and with eyes open. Litters are usually small in number, predominantly two.
The international trade in chinchilla fur goes back to the 16th century and the animal (whose name means “Little Chincha”) is named after the Chincha people of the Andes, who wore its soft, dense fur. By the end of the 19th century, chinchillas had become rare. The fur trade has driven one species of Chinchilla to extinction, the remaining two species are now endangered and extinct across much of their original home range. In 1923, Mathias F. Chapman brought the eleven wild chinchillas he had captured to the U.S. for breeding. This small population now supplies the fur and pet trade.
Fox (Vulpes vulpes)
The red fox is one of the most widely distributed members of the order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere from the Arctic Circle to North Africa, North America and Eurasia. The species primarily feeds on small rodents, though it may also target rabbits, birds, reptiles, invertebrates and young ungulates. Fruit and vegetable matter is also eaten.
The adult red fox is smaller than most other members of the genus Vulpes. It ranges from 44 to 70 cm (17 to 28 in) at the shoulder, 45 to 65 cm (18 to 26 in) in length with a basal expanse of 95 to 110 cm (37 to 43 in), and 7.7 to 15 kg (17 to 33 lb) in weight. There is generally little distinguishment in size across a large geographic range.
The fur of the red fox is finely commuted and bright reddish-brown. The bushy tail has a white tip that it can also manipulate to signal its position or mood. Other physical features include narrow black legs and black-tipped ears. The hands of a fox are slightly larger than its feet, indicating that it spends a lot of time digging with them. It has long hairs from the top side of its foot that pass down between its toes which makes it easier for it to run on snow.
Levels of melanism in foxes are variable. Even within natural populations, there can be large variations in colour phases (blue, silver and cross). Of particular interest to the fur industry is the very rare all-black specimens; these are known as “silver” foxes. The red fox preys upon smaller mammals such as rabbits, hares, rats, mice and voles. It will scavenge if given the chance but typically only eats what it can catch itself.
Red foxes bred in captivity can come in a seemingly endless array of exotic colours and patterns, from natural mutations to those deliberately cultivated by humans through selective breeding. Many of these foxes look drastically different from their wild counterparts, with a much smaller or larger frame, a lack of the familiar musky scent and even genetic disorders such as haemophilia. Yet for all the splendour that these foxes possess, not all is rosy in the world of captive-bred red foxes – despite centuries of selective breeding, some foxes are still prone to genetic issues and carry debilitating diseases, while some may struggle to adapt to life in the wild if they were to ever escape captivity. All in all, just like humans, no two foxes are ever the same.
Raccoon Dog and Cat
Despite the abhorrent conditions to which animals are subjected in Chinese fur farms, there is no real consequence for those who abuse them. The fur of more than 2 million cats and hundreds of thousands of raccoon dogs are taken each year and most are skinned alive.
Though the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union have enacted measures to stop the importation, exporting, and sale of cat and dog fur products, it is still available in some countries through a legal loophole. Novelty items made from farmed cat and dog fur can be found in the form of trim on garments like boots, jackets, handbags and animal toys but while it may be legal to purchase them, many animal lovers find it morally wrong.
Rabbit
The fur farming industry has caused immense suffering to its rabbits, the Rex breed in particular. Breeding animals are forced to live a life of captivity for up to three years, being impregnated and separated from their kits twice a year.
The kits, taken away from their mothers at only four weeks of age, are then placed in nurseries with other rabbits. After seven or eight weeks, they are moved to individual cages, where they live for around six to seven months before being killed for their fur.
The rabbits remain in barren wire mesh cages their whole lives, deprived of the love and warmth of any companions. Despite regulations on cage sizes, the mortality rate for the Rex remains high, at 10-15%, mostly from respiratory diseases.
By-products of Fur Farms
The meat from fur-farmed animals is rarely consumed by humans, yet its use is widespread in other industries.
Carcasses are turned into pet food, animal feed, compost, fertiliser, paints, and even tyres. Alternatively, some carcasses are donated to zoos and aquariums for animal consumption; in China, even the existing animals are fed with fur-farm carcasses. Faeces is used as a fertiliser for crops and animal fat is used to manufacture soaps, cosmetics and leather treatments.
The fur industry is a multi-billion dollar business that traps animals in deplorable and cramped conditions only to skin them for their fur. Although 85% of all fur is commercially farmed, some argue that fur is still seen as an essential item and as a signifier of wealth and status.
Wildlife Matters takes a firm stance against the use of fur in the modern world; we believe there can be no justification for wearing animal fur at all. Donning the skin of a dead animal exhibits a lack of compassion, ethics or morals and no empathy towards animals whatsoever.
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