Hello – I am Rosalie. I’m a student at University College Falmouth. I will be helping with the show on Friday when the WHYS team visit Cornwall.
Fur seems to be everywhere at the moment – in the magazines, on the catwalks and in the shops.
But does our quest to be fashionable justify wearing fur?
Taking advantage of the media attention from the Winter Olympics, naked protestors recently took to the streets of Vancouver, wearing only the slogan “Have a heart don’t buy fur.” This was just one of 21 anti-fur protests organised in Canada on the national anti-fur day. Protesters claim suffering is a common ingredient in all methods of procuring fur, from fur factory farming to trapping with over 50 million animals killed for their fur every year.
Blogger Rebecca Rutt says that “however good fur feels when you know that some fur farms keep up to four foxes in cages measuring two and a half feet square, and most are normally strangled or beaten to death before being skinned – can anything really feel that good?”
Despite all the criticism, protests and outcry, fur is definitely making a comeback, with the British Fur Trade Association (BFTA) declaring “a significant growth in fur sales”. Worldwide fur sales totalled US$13 billion in 2008 alone. On it’s blog, the International Fur Trade Federation adds, “In recent years we have endeavored to address the misconception of our industry, fueled mainly by animal rights activists. Today’s fur trade operates with greater responsibility and transparency than ever before.”
In their new Fur is Green campaign, the Fur Council of Canada go so far as promoting fur as an environmentally sound choice. “At a time when we are all trying to be conscious of how our lifestyles affect nature, fur is an excellent choice. Like leather, suede and shearling, fur is a natural product, a true gift of nature….”
So, is it ok to wear fur? Does our quest to be fashionable justify animal suffering?
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BBC World Have Your Say 
Hi,
Thanks for the link to my blog, you spelt my name wrong though!
NO – it’s unjustifiable, unsustainable and totally Unnecessary to keep using it! And – unless you live in an igloo there is no excuse either.
There is so much Faux fur and alternative material out there – we really don’t need this industry.
I think there is a resurgance in the trade because for the last decade, the fur-protestors have been resting on their laurels from previous sucesses…
We have a whole new generation of ‘fashionistas’ out there so the protestors need to make a comeback and double their efforts to knock some sense into these selfish airheads.
Cabe,
You need to be taught especially Inuit history, whenever the animals are criticize you guys are short sited. Inuit love wildlife at the same time they hunt and use it wisely,
No – it isn’t OK to wear fur (unless you are an animal and were born with it!). Amazing to see the Fur Council of Canada promoting Fur as Green. There is so much evidence showing the production of fur = poor animal welfare. I think more countries should follow the example of Israel and ban the trade in fur (http://www.thejc.com/news/israel-news/27098/israel-bans-fur-imports-except-chasidic-hats)
I agree with you Roy, and if people really want to wear fur for their own vanity why not wear fake fur, there are so many alternatives these days.
A gift of nature? A gift is something freely given not something ripped from your flesh after you’ve been kept in a small, filthy cage for your entire life or allowed to die of exposure and dehydration with your leg crushed in a steel trap. Nature gave the gift of fur to minks and foxes and beavers, humans got the gift of greed and cruelty. So yes, it’s okay to wear fur if it grows out of your own skin, same with leather. Really, this is simple. People who want to wear fur say that it is okay because – they want to. All it takes is money, vanity and the ability to suspend compassion.
What can I say, but this has to be the usual “I’m-more-human-than-the-rest-of-you-out-there” thing. Folks will wring hankies and cry over the dying blue, white or purple whale and not bat an eyelid at the suffering of real people living just next door to them. Only yesterday I saw for the first time a National Geographic documentary with a life-recording of Herr Hitler bending low to kiss and stroke his Alsatian with such heart-rending fondness it was hard to believe this was the same bloke signing without any flicker of emotion the extermination of Jews.
Let me tell us all something: its all very moving and charming being concerned about the cruelty men mete on foxes and such animals for their fur and all that, but until we get a handle on our human-to-human cruelty its all a great deal of hooey to me this campaign against the use of fur.
InMy view i support It seems very nice to wear it
I don’t believe that animals that die for fur suffer more than animals that die for other products like leather or those Ugg boots. I have no problem with fur as I have no problem with vegeterians… people should learn to respect other’s choices and stop imposing their ways.
I have seen farms (not only fur farms) and one thing I can tell you is that farmers have a lot and respect and love for the animals they raise. Animal rights activist are well meaning but they too often speculate about animal cruelty but clearly know very little about the responsibality to professional animal care… because their real goal is total abolition of animal use.
As much as I cannot stand that people wear fur, it’s really not any different than people wearing leather. If cows and pigs were cuter, would people be anti leather finally?
Yes, I agree with that sentiment.
Fur coats are beautiful… on the original animal!
I think the main problem is unawareness as to what happens to the animals who’s fur is removed. I am sure that if you were to sit anyone through one of the undercover footage taken at fur farms, the popularity of fur coats (and fur decorations) might decrease. But we are too vain to care, too blase to react, to sheepish to stand up for what is right.
We didn’t seem to care much about farm animal welfare unitl we realised their well being affected their health and that in turn affected our (and other animals’) health.
Possibly the only way people will start caring is if they are themselves negatively affected by fur or the process of making fur…. other than their bank accounts, that is.
There is nothing ‘green’ about fur. Fur coats or trimmings are the result of animal cruelty. Animals spend years in tiny wire-mesh cages where their basic needs cannot even be met. For species such as mink and fox, these conditions are particularly inadequate, as they are wild animals and would naturally travel many miles each day. Being caged in huge sheds, with thousands of other animals ‘farmed’ for fur, drives them insane with anxiety and fear. Repetitive movements, stereotypic behaviour, such as head-bobbing and circling, are common.
Animals on fur farms are killed by electrocution (through the use of electrodes in the mouth and anus), gassing, lethal injection or neck breaking. These crude methods are employed to ensure that the pelts (the animals’ skins and fur) are not damaged. Some animals take minutes or even longer to die and suffer excruciating pain.
In the UK, farming animals to kill them for their fur was banned and finally phased out in 2002. In the Netherlands, fur farming was finally banned in 2009. The EU has banned the import of dog and cat fur (which mostly came from China), and seal fur (mainly from Canada), but the import of fur into the UK and other EU member states continues. People may inadvertently buy products with fur trimmings (e.g. from rabbits), so accurate labelling is warranted. In addition, the keeping of other animal species for their fur is equally inhumane, and should be banned across the EU.
Angry protests at shops are likely to be counterproductive and efforts should instead be focused on educating those who consider buying fur products. Fashion designers really should set an ethical example and only include faux fur in their designs. There is no place for fur products in a compassionate society.
well,
why to uproar about fur and not chickens or pigs etc?
Ahhhh furry little creatures are cuter than a pig…..
Why not, i am wearing leather jackets and shoes.
Any woman who likes wearing furs, is best advised not to wear a fur coat or stole when visiting certain countries in Europe. She will be rediculed by the native population and told that she should not wear one.
I never really liked the way fur looked anyways. Why isn’t there as much outcry about leather, is it because it doesn’t resemble the animal as much? All these fashion looks can be achieved synthetically at this point, why kill animals if you don’t have to? Now, if they could only make a synthetic steak that tastes like the real thing…
What’s the difference between the Fur coat and the Leather shoes that are worn.
Should I worry about someone throwing Red paint on me for wearing a pair of Steel Toed Leather Work Boots required by law for safety reasons?
If your going to address this issue, shouldn’t it cover all the products derived from animals, no matter if they are cuddly and cute or not.
My wife insists of free range eggs and outdoor bacon so she’ll be pleased to read you can now get environmental and welfare friendly fur! Don’t suppose you can get any more ‘free range’ than a critter running around in the wild. I’m already bracing myself for ‘I want a free range fox coat’ next Christmas! Anyone know what percentage of fur comes from these ‘green’ sources and whether there really is no animal suffering involved? Isn’t there a danger that if fur really is making a comeback that this will just encourage mass production and poor welfare as happened with battery eggs last century?
Pigs are cute and cuddly – haven’t you seen the film Babe?
Perhaps there is less of a moral objection to wearing pig leather since the leather is a by-product of the meat industry? Pigs have been domesticated for far longer than foxes, mink and whatever else is fashionable to wear (I saw on one of the links a lady wearing a skunk scarf – phew bet that stinks when it gets wet!). Consequently, they probably don’t suffer as much getting farmed and are lucky enough not to end up getting caught in leg traps or bashed over the head with a club. I’ve no idea what “green fur’ is like – do the animals live in large outdoor enclosures like free range pigs?
I think this is why people don’t feel as strongly about wearing leather as they do about fur?
As one who has protested in front of Canadian fur stores, I find this new trend a step backward in our ethics and morals. I remember teaching my little brother that, “it takes many animals to make a fur coat, but one dumb one to wear it!”
let’s face it the animal world is split into two categories, the cute furry ones which do percieved human like things and animals that are steaks and baseball gloves….
get me the smallest violin while I chomp down on my tenderloin steak.
Agree with those above who say it is no different from eating meat or wearing leather. If any of you have seen any footage from any kind of industrial animal farming, it is all repulsive. Still, i wear leather and eat meat so who am i to condone any of these industries just because one animal is cuter than another.
I’m embarrassed to say I used to own a mink coat. I didn’t know any better and they were all the rage when I was younger. I threw mine away in 1983. I have to admit I loved wearing it but my conscience got the better of me. Fur coats should be left as a fashion throwback to the past. They were OK to wear in the 1950’s but in 2010 we really ought to know better.
I detest animal cruelty but I detest hypocrisy almost as much. It seems to be be OK to slaughter animals for some purposes but not others. According to the anti-fur lobby it is OK to wear leather but not fur because “the cow was killed for its meat and the leather is just a by-product”.
Yeah, right! Anyone who eats meat has immediately lost the moral high ground in this debate. And the same goes for intensively farmed chickens – how many anti-fur protesters buy ridiculously cheap chicken in their weekly shop?
And what about silk? Its OK to kill silk worms (nasty little grubs?) by boiling them alive but not cute little mink (oh, by the way, ask any chicken farmer just how cute mink are) – thank you Walt Disney for your anthropomorphic legacy!
All animals raised and slaughted by man are entitled to be treated with high welfare considerations and there is animal welfare legislation governing fur production in many, many countries. That is why the fur trade developed the Origin Assured label so customers can get information on where their fur has come from. Of course, there are rogue operators in all industries and any animal cruelty should be condemned and fully prosecuted within the law,
But once we know that animals are being raised and slaughtered (brutal word? Sorry, but man has been slaughtering animals for millions of years!) under legally enforced welfareregulations, I see absolutely no moral difference between using leather or fur or silk or any other animal product.
Unless you happen to believe that fur is an easier target because rich women are easier targets than biker gangs?!
I smile reading the posts. Guys you’ve just made my earlier point. Justifying one evil with another: “I agree intensive farming is cruel, I eat meat, I wear leather, therefore it’s ok to use fur”… hum so take your pick- are you too sheepish to stand for what is right then? or is it blase? apathetic? You say jump I say how high? “It’s the system not me”.
Humans are replete with paradoxes. What one can’t afford, he criticizes because he doesn’t want others to enjoy it. Suddenly he wants to protect every animal, from the python to the crocodile, the fox the lion, the guinea pig, the monkey etc. He is against medical progress and cure of diseases.
What is finally left for men to do?
Wearing fur is disgusting, so is wearing leather. Even the smell of it makes me ill. There are alternatives out there that are just as nice as the real thing. Actually nicer because an animal was not harmed in it’s making. The abuse and torture of animals just so someone can be “fashionable” is not justifiable.
@ some of the comments above – Pigs and cows are adorable!
Fur is another renewable resource, simple (at least it should be). Faux fur is taboo. Ever considered the carbon footprint from that petroleum-based swag?
hell, i am not saying cows and pigs are not cute. The main stream says so. i would love to have a cow in my backyard, I like them a lot, especially next to my potatoes and broccoli.
“Meat is Murder, very very tasty murder”
what is next don’t sheer sheep because they are ever so embaressed when “naked” or stop picking cotten because it hurts the plants feeling?
synthetic fabrics require oil…..we are doomed, we all must go naked to preserve nature.
Jens- As I’m in Florida, I could go naked if I must, but I don’t know what the north is going to do.
Let’s add one more to the mix–how about when the fur is from an invasive species, the only other alternative for ridding New Zealand of this pest is inhumane and the product (spinning the fur with wool) is cashmere soft, toasty warm, washable, no pill and 100% natural fiber? Wild-Wool.com is all those things. Great discussion going on here…
I’m a huge advocate of not wearing fur. I think it’s cruel and unnecessary. However, I do understand in many cultures that it’s necessary to stay warm or survive, and the need to use buffalo for blankets and jackets.
‘Isa’ made a very good point about one evil not justifying another. Yes, people are predominantely OK with leather and against fur. I don’t think the fact cows and pigs aren’t as cute as a foxes and mink has anything to do with it though. Personally I am OK with leather (admittedly not all leather – have you seen how some cows in India are killed?) but only if the animals are reared humanely and killed humanely.
For example, snakes and crocodiles aren’t as cute as a pigs and cows but I’d draw the line on wearing reptile leather. They can’t be reared humanely and it is very difficult to kill them humanely.
You might think this means I am OK with welfare assured fur? No way! The species reared for fur aren’t adapted to captivity.
Also, I’m pretty sure the fur industry differentiates on what kind of fur it says is OK and what is not based on cuteness factors. Pro-furrers don’t generally support cat and dog furs – if they did there would be public outcry. However, why should dog and cats be treated differently? Is it because they are cuter?
Personally, if I had to wear fur I’d rather go down to my local vets and ask for access to thier body freezer. The dogs and cats in there had a great life (on the whole) and were humanely euthanased using lethal injection. You wont get higher welfare fur than that! However – I don’t imagine this would be popular. Why, then are people OK with fur from animals kept in small barren cages that suffer during thier life?
Food for thought?
Rosalie:
Wearing fur is simply WRONG and, not OK to wear it ever…..
(Dennis Junior)
Fur is beautiful……i don’t see the difference if an animal is used for it’s skin or if you eat it………..wild or domestic……….what does it matte? God created animals for our use
Ruthie–
The fundamentalist view you are expressing that God created animals for our use is sociopathic. It is a childish view of spirituality and an ignorant view of the origins of life. The belief you are expressing simultaneously abandons logic, reason, science and compassion and makes a mockery of sincere spiritual work.
I am sad for you and sad for the cruelty that is inflicted upon the inhabitants of this earth by so many megalomaniacal zealots that share your point of view.
Don’t believe the hype! Fur is inherently cruel visit http://www.respectforanimals.org for more information. The fact is the UK fur trade claims that fur is coming back but there are no figures to prove this. More and more big retailers have signed up to the Fur Free Retailers scheme and many more have their own no fur policies. Harrods is the only major department store in the UK that still sells fur but even their fur department closed down in the early 80s – more than 25 years ago. But, worldiwide, more and more animals are dying just for their fur. Fur is not a by-products of the meat or any other industry, its a luxury product that no one needs and more than one animal dies every single second just for the skin on its back. In this day and age this cannot be right.
No! It is absolutely NOT justifiable to wear fur! The Canadian Fur Council’s assertion that wearing fur is ‘environmentally friendly’ is ludicrous! The truth is that Canada is facing increasing international pressure to bring an end to it’s barbaric seal hunt (e.g. European ban on trade in seal products). Outfits like Respect for Animals and Humane Society International, as well as the Fur Free Alliance, are slowly combatting this cruel industry and the potential impact it will have on the Canadian economy is resulting in desperate attempts to play on the international conscience surrounding green issues. In actual fact fur farming and the chemicals involved is terribly harmful to the environment. And what is environmentally friendly about the elimination of an entire species? The idea that real fur is making a comeback is horrifyingly backwards. If people could only see the cruelty involved in the methods of procuring fur, whether it be seal clubbing, fur farming or animal trapping, they would never want to wear the fur of a dead animal.
We are a laughable lot, arent we? Do we for one moment know what it means to recoil at the killing of ANY creature? The prehistoric man had to fashion the bones of animals to make his utensils – including, as I hear, the earliest syringes. And please dont tell me these were only from meal leftovers. Then came the idea that animal-skins could serve as good clothing. Mark please that this was all way before our time. But it goes on and on to these our days when animals are used to help in medicine-making and so on.
But why do we stop at large animals like foxes and whales and bears? What about the simple ant we callously throd and maim underfoot or kill with our Nikes while tramping across the world’s uncountable pavements? Do we have any idea how many multicellular and unicellular creatures are wiped out with every new house put up in the world? Are these creatures any less deserving of freedom from human cruelty? I hear that good folks regularly swallow arachnids with their meals. Are these to be protected too someday? Are we not becoming roundly risible in all these?
There is an order of things in nature which we find difficult understanding. These creatures don’t have the capacity to build resentment against us for being targeted AND despite Hollywood, they are not planning someday soon in the future to invade us. They are here to serve our purposes. Our side of the deal is to use them to whatever useful ends we conceive but in a human and sustainable manner. In other words, don’t hunt the whale or fish the salmon to extinction. We are not to lose sleep over cows being held in barns under captivity and daily milked for the consumption of human babies. Or have I spoken too soon? Has some crackhead come up with such a campaign as well?
I agree very much with those comments above which scoff at such suggestions that the fur industry is environmentally sound. How absurd! I hear that the Canadian Government also tries to justify its seal trade by referring to the Inuit reliance on seal meat and seal products. Incidentally, there is a loophole in the European ban on seal products which allows the Inuit or indigenous peoples of Canada to continue their use of these products in order that age-old traditions are protected. But I also read an article recently that stated that seal meat, what with its high ocean pollutant concentrates, is actually harmful and is causing health probelms within the Inuit community!
But back to Rosalie’s question… I am totally opposed to the fur industry and the wearing of fur, and agree that the re-introduction of this into mainstream fashion is a huge step backwards. Don’t wear fur Rosalie!! A the end of the day, is a fashion statement which will seem dated by next Fall/Winter really worth the bloodshed, suffering and moral uncertainty??
No, it is absolutely NOT OK to wear fur, and few will be taken in by attempts to make this horrifically cruel industry look in any way “green”. It is particularly ironic that this move comes from Canada, responsible for the biggest marine mammal hunt in the world, involving thousands of seal pups every year suffering slow painful deaths just so that their fur can be used to make luxury items for the fashion industry. Evidence obtained by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and other groups shows that many of these pups are skinned alive, while others drown after being shot in the water. The newly passed European Union ban on the trade in products from cruel commercial seal hunts shows the level of opposition to this abhorrent trade in Europe. Hopefully Canada and other countries will soon acknowledge there is no place for such cruelty in the 21st Century and, with falling markets for seal skins, call an end to this barbaric practice once and for all.
Guess they have to change the name CAT walk to something else when they cant use fur any more.
AT the end there is no need to kill animals for their fur.
The need was there 100ds of years ago before people knew how to weave.
Nowadays there are so much better and nicer things around to make clothes from. There is no need to use fur.
No, for obvious reasons, it’s not O.K. to wear fur.
So, Karen Ball, fur farming is cruel but dairy/beef/pork and other forms of animal farming isn’t? Even though farms in all of these sectors operate under the same laws and regulations?
It seems to me that you – and organisations such as Respect for Animals, Humane Society International et al – are advocating the banning of ALL farms.
Maybe it is about time these organisations practiced the same transparency that they are demanding of others and declared their true objectives – the banning of all and any type of animal husbandry.
Pattie,
Well the last couple of months in Maryland would have been to cold for any nekked walking around.
i really do not see a reason why some people get all worked up about fur and then go and buy a tenderloin.
the sweet irony is that many of the tree huggers want to get back to nature etc, but blatantly ignor that cavemen were wearing what again? Ahhhhhhhhh leather and fur as sooon as they were able to process it. Get over it we are omnivors and with that comes hunting and animal husbandry. if we were ruminants we ‘d have multiple stomaches, but we don’t.
No its not okay.
If you wanna wear fur then wear a fake one. Who’s gonna notice if its real anyway ?
Yes, and leather and eat meat….. Personally, I find fur ineffective and don’t use it. Leather is great and my diet consists of little more than meat and dairy. I always have wondered why it is so important to some people to try to force everyone to live by some arbitrary and narrow notion they adopt as being right.
Fur might be on the increase on the catwalks but thankfully countries like Israel have the right idea. Check out this link for more info……..http://www.wspa-international.org/latestnews/2010/israel_world_first_fur_ban_vote.aspx
Apparently the government are voting tomorrow on a bill to ban the farming and processing, import, export and sale of fur from all animal species that aren’t already part of the meat industry. Fingers crossed it gets made into law. 86% of the population can’t be wrong. Hopefully 2011 will see the catwalks and designers coming to thier senses too!
Great topic for discussion on a WHYS show!!!
I can’t see how people can reconcile the use of fur from a billion fur animals annually, 80% of which are farmed and slaughtered in the most horrific ways in China. It seems that many postings fail to see the ethical or utilitarian distinction between the production, trade and purchase of fur (today a luxury, fashion, accessory item) and that of domestic animals for food production. Whilst not all animals used for food production are necessary, nor humanely farmed, their use is considered acceptable with an increasing subset of people adding the condition of humanely farmed and slaughtered. Fur is a primary fashion product mostly rom animals specifically farmed; not a biproduct of food industry animals as is often (but not always) leather. And in no way is fur production green nor humane, not even in the EU! So if you can watch and accept the evidence of a billion animals suffering intensely, to the extent of commonly self-harming, during their entire farmed life and some even 10 mins after being skinned alive- then what sort of humanity do you have? Go Israel- set a world precedent!!
It’s ok to wear fur if you grew it yourself or if you hunted the animal in a home made kayak in icy waters, with a hand chipped stone knife, thanked the animal for giving it’s life for you, used every bit of the animal and sewed it together fur side in with a bone needle. Otherwise you’re selfish and disgusting.
I agree. There is something very different about hunting an animal and using it for survival rather than running out to the mall and buying a coat.
Irene,
so now we are making subclasse when it is OK and when not? does that mean that anybody who wears leather shoes/jackets and eats meat needs to have a cow/pig/sheep in the backyard, kill it him/herself, skin it and cut up the meet, followed by sewing your own jacket and cobble your own shoes? A rather interesting concept
Yes. It is interesting isn’t it?
The earth would be a cleaner place and we would all be healthier if meat did not come in plastic packages and shoes were something you wore until they had holes in them.
Kate Blaszak and Zoe D invocate Israel as a country of high esteem with regards to animal welfare practices as they are considering an importation ban on fur – even that which has been produce legally and sourced from countries with animal welfare regulations in force. The same regulations that governing all types of farming, by the way!
Presumably Kate and Zoe are not aware of the Law of Kashrut, practiced throughout Israel that permits, on religious grounds, the slaughtering of chickens in a particularly nasty way.
They are suspended, alive, upside down attached to a conveyor. Their throats are slit and they are allowed to slowly bleed to death. This is essential for chickens to be classified as Kosher.
Is Israel now still cool?
By the way Israel will have exclusions from the importation ban for fur that is used in the Shtreimel, the hat worn by Hasidic jews. So, again, OK on religious/cultural grounds….hang on a minute….the poor Innuits got it in the neck from some of the posts because they wanted to continue to hunt seals on cultural rounds….
Can we expect to see “Respect for Animals” lobby the Israeli Embassy in the near future or is that too rich a political diet for the animal welfare activists?
YES it is OK to wear fur, and leather and silk and wool. Why fur is singled out by animal rights is hard to understand, other than perhaps because it is a luxury product? I agree with Chris 100% – let’s be sensible. Fur is farmed, cows are farmed, silk worms are farmed. In Europe there are lots of laws to protect animals. If you eat meat and wear leather where is the difference? Fur is beautiful, so why not? why do some people feel they have the right to tell other s what they can and cant have? its a slippery slope, if they dont want you to wear fur, do they want you to stop wearing leather? eating meat? for goodness sake let common sense prevail for once.
I surely do not want others telling me what or how to eat, dress, or how
to proceed with any other personal part of my life.
Irene – I like your Indian-type concept of appreciating the sacrifice and not wasting a thing. Maybe being more efficient and aware of the way we consume would reduce waste and animal cruelty. As I’ve said before, though, I admit I’m a hyppocrite and would probably be a vegetarian if I had to kill my own meat. Also, in my unskilled hands, any animal I hunted would probably suffer a lot.
Please don’t partake of the bounty of this beautiful planet by eating anything, especially vegetables, if you are unable to appreciate all of its bounty by recognizing the beauty and value of wearing fur. Your mode of living and earning may disgust and horrify me greatly, but I wouldn’t consider it polite to tell you so.
Most of the time it’s way better to mind your own business and tend to all your own shortcomings instead of focusing on what you consider wrong for others to do. Simply living your convictions unhypocritically is the best way to influence others and make them think maybe you’re right. Screaming filthy rhetoric at people and physically attacking them are acts of terror.
Unless the entire world is ready to outlaw all killing of every animal, plant, insect, microbe and virus on earth, it is ridiculous to say that killing animals to get their fur, even if only for its beauty as garments to be worn by human beings, can’t be justified. I love trees and mourn the destruction of the great forests, but that doesn’t stop me and, I dare say most people, from living in homes made of wood.
The focus of this kind of discussion might better be the extinction of entire species of animals and birds by the greed or desperation of human beings seeking to ensure their own individual survival or economic enrichment. That’s what needs to be brought under control and Canada is performing excellently in that department with respect to its fur-bearers.
Canada
I can’t wrap my head around the lack of compassion regarding this topic. How can anyone justify the torture of another living being for fashion? I honestly don’t get it.
Believe me, some of those whose lives have included killing of other living beings, such as farmers, fur trappers, fishermen, etc., do get it. It is possible, maybe essential, and even likely for those who kill for necessity to have compassion for the creatures whose lives they are ending.
Life and death are inextricably interwoven. We cannot have one without the other. We may weep at the deed but the deed sometimes must be done, albeit in as humane a fashion as possible. If you weep for the innocent killed, it would also be appropriate for you to weep for the killer, who understands far more than do you.
Why do you believe that animals are tortured for fashion? There may be sadists in the industry who delight in torture and death but I seriously doubt there are many and certainly no more than in any other profession. The popular image of those who do such work as being cruel and inhumane is no more than a false fastidiousness that creates a glow of self-righteousness in those who subscribe to it and is not even that elevated a motive in those groups that earn their livings by strident, illegal, often violent attacks on the industry.
Kate M.
my heart bleeds…not, if you eat meat and wear leather/belts/bracelets/nechlaces/jackets/coats/shoes you have zero right telling anybody else not to wear fur, period. it is not a matter of compassion but a matter of hypocracy.
I am a vegetarian. I only use cruelty free products, products that are not tested on animals. I do not own anything with leather or fur. I examine clothing and jewelery very carefully before I but anything. Your right, if I did not try so hard I would not be able to say anything to anyone.
well!!!it is all just about the opinion of every individual…bcz the ppl who like to wear fur they will and dont like they will stop to others and show their unlikeness towards a product………..!!!!!!!thank u.
No, it’s not ok to wear fur!
Agree 150% with all the advocates supporting the promo of FURS and such. It employs people just like everything else. We manage all our wildlife through our Ministry of Environment.
They do a pretty good job. Every one is entitled to their own opinion but it is not necessarily that shared by me!
Stop the senseless suicide bombings and such first!
later, Jay
No it isn’t okay to wear fur.
If the planet was much less crowded, if fur wasn’t only used for fashion, if it was made and used for years with great respect, then it could be okay. Only then.
But I wouldn’t be happy and in a good mood by having to kill an animal for my survival. I’d only do it for survival chances. I’d make the clothe myself, clothe, not fashion. And I would pay great respect and humility to the animal who’s life I’d have taken and its species. I would do what I could to pay back for it.
Fur is such a bad taste choice in fashion… people don’t think, they wanna “look” that’s all. It has to say “money”, it has to say “I’m rich”, it has to say “I’m trendy (and heavily influenced by publicity).
They don’t care about where it comes from and how it’s been made. For them it means luxury and that’s all they wanna know about.
If trash bags were luxury, they’d buy it. :-s
Why wear that?
If you that cold, that you must put blood on your body, and willing to pay so much, than buy fake fur, it looks the same..
The most beautiful animals on the earth, must die because of these shallow and thoughtless people..
Greetings from Croatia. 🙂
It is hypocracy to cry over fur when we wear leather shoes, carry leather bags, we eat eggs and bacons, lamp chops, beef burger, chicken and chips and ribs of many kinds. Do we ever think of the jobs for the people who provide us with the fur? And they treat nature better than many of us.
No, it is not OK to wear fur.
I am saddened to see that people base their opinion that its OK to wear fur with effectively ‘we cause animals to greatly suffer in lots of ways so why not in fur production too?’. What a strange ethical stance!
People who care about animal welfare obviousy do care about farm animals, pet animals etc as well as animals farmed for their fur. This doesn’t mean that they don’t also care about humanitarian causes (in response to a post above) nor does it mean that they never kill a microbe. To strive to live in a way that doesn’t cause suffering, or lessens it just a little by not purchasing fur, can only be applauded.
A billion animals are produced for their fur annually, 80% of which are farmed and slaughtered in the most horrific ways in China. Fur is a luxury item, plenty of alternatives are available. Whereas people concerned about animal welfare can choose to buy food that has been humanely reared there is currently NO way tht fur can be humanely mass produced, and this is not occuring even in the EU.
I do not doubt that animal cruelty for production of food still occurs in Israel but they are on the verge of making a great step forward in recognising that animal suffering for fur is unacceptable. The UK banned fur farming many years ago but by continuing to allow the import of fur means that it is sadly still on sale in our shops. Go Israel!
So sad that so many people who have left comments condone animal suffering and justify it. And not only that but they also hit out at people trying to lead thoughtful, ethical lives and who are putting their points across very well.
Animals suffer for humans in lots of ways, I agree, how this makes wearing fur OK I have no idea.
If a person who wants to wear fur visited a farm and saw the animals in tiny cages, chewing their own legs out of boredom and frustration, pacing their cages, sitting there staring into space without anything to do – then killed, mostly in inhumane ways just for someone to wear a coat? – then I don’t think they would be rushing out for that fur coat after all when so many other coats exist!
And let’s not forget the fur trim issue – labelling is so bad that many items such as boots and hoods are trimmed with fur and the public don’t even realise that it is fur (erroneously assuming that such a cruel and unecessary practise is illegal).
Banning fur is something that will not affect people’s lives in any significant way but will prevent the horrific suffering of a BILLION animals worldwide.
Kate M, it isn’t lack of compassion. I truly love animals but refuse, through a complete distaste for hypocrisy, to agree that it is wrong to use them for our own purposes. Unlike most, I am being completely honest!
If you are a meat-eater, Kate, you will undoubtedly buy beef beautifully prepared and wrapped in cling-filmed packages or chicken surgically dissected and sold in pieces that have no visual bearing on the original animal. Supermarkets know that most of us need this visual “firebreak” to assuage our guilt so we can still feel comfortable eating meat.
Old fashioned butchers used to have rabbits, pheasants, ducks hanging in their shops. Not today – we want the meat but don’t want to associate it with the real animal.
The same goes for leather, silk, rennet, suet…and any other animal product. You cannot morally escape by saying “we don’t NEED fur therefore it is wrong” – not if you voluntarily use any other animal product.
This is about freedom to choose. You may not want to wear fur but it doesn’t mean it is wrong – as long as animals are raised and subsequently slaughtered within prevailing welfare laws. The same laws that apply to cows, pigs, sheep, deer, chickens…. Cases of abuse should, of course, be fully investigated and prosecuted by appropriate authorities.
Anti-fur organisations want to take away this freedom to choose simply because the rest of us do not agree with them.
In politics there is a term for this…..
Chris, I think what Kate is saying is, that it’s wrong for her. So let her not wear fur.
What say you?
I do not understand why some people think that caring for animals excludes caring for humans. Such a sad way of reasoning… Given the ecological and ethical impact of fur, it is unacceptable in every way. Inuits are a different story. You can’t compare them with someone form Italy, France, or UK. Plus, their population is not comparable with that of Europe or US. Also, when did you last time saw a generous, loving person folded in fur? I understand that it’s sometimes difficult to see, feel the suffering behind your steak or coat, but it is real. And I think it is also important to have in mind that life is probably much more than just what it appears.
Everything about fur production is cruel crime and shoud be stopped immediately.
I don’t think people should wear fur. Because fur is not a gift of nature to people, it’s to animals and i don’t think we should use it. In today technology there are great faux fur coats so there is no need to take it from animals. Cuz cruelty is just awful! There is no excuse for real fur. I am totally against it and i find every person who wears real fur awful and they should be ashame of their self, not feel good!
Fur is murder. And i have no idea what is so great about it, when i see it i only see a dead animal on somebody, there is no beauty in that!
must be boring living on vegetables and don’t you think all your mass produced clothing does more damage to our enviroment ?
Lola, if you ever saw my chest you wouldn’t say, ‘Fur is not a gift of nature to man’.
If we really want to know how blogging changes anything: “hands up all those whose minds have been changed here after reading an opposite view”.
Precious few, I suppose – if any at all. My mind, for instance, is resolutely fixed that “nothing-the-monk” is wrong with fur hunting or fur-wearing. If we are out to save every living thing in nature from destruction then lets no longer use tables made from wood; these were chopped off living trees. And the list, mind you, is interminable. Grow up guys!
Is it OK to torture and kill?!? Is it OK to torture and kill just for fun and money?!? NO IT’S NOT!!!
I just had to comment Chris’s comment. Your talking about freedom of choice? Than you approve violence between humans as well, because one’s freedom stops where the another one’s begins.
Perfectly acceptable as long as fur is a byproduct. I.e. you are using the animal for something other than their fur, like cattle and leather. Or if you are finding a legitamate use for the rest of the animal after it has been skinned.
Unless you eat on vegetables and don’t wear leather products then to oppose the wearing of fur is total hypocrasy. We breed animals for food, we farm animals for research so YES its ok to wear fur.
Hunting and fishing is part of our ecology. Some communities rely on the same, I notice the UK recently opposed the sale of seal fur etc from Canada. Wow so its ok to let people starve and lose their means of living just so long as we save a few seals…my god the world has gone mad and I note the UK doesn’t oppose nuclear facilities or drilling for oil etc.
Wear your fur with pride, I bet it costs less and does less damage to the enviroment than the manufacture of fake fur.
We are going to far as usual, yes ban factory farming and intense fishing/whaling but don’t go to extremes. Why can we never find a happy medium ?
Viola, love and agree with your thoughtful response. We need to buy fewer things that last longer. This includes natural fiber products (such as leather and wool) that work well–not petroleum based products that are throw away fashion, would melt to your skin if burned and over which wars have been fought.
Skinning animals alive does not justify unnecessary fashion. And the toxic soup that the rotting skins are treated with is NOT “green.” Futhermore, regardless what appears on the catwalk, fur is not new but rather a boring, cruel recurring trend that benefits from people wanting to be controversial. Here in the United States, fur imports are at a 30-year low thanks to consious retailers and consumers moving towards sustainability and compassion.
Finally, the difference between fur and other things like leather, meat, etc. relies on the understanding of the overwhelming obsession our world has with eating meat and for the most part, leather and wool are by-products of the meat industry. Fur farms are being banned all around Europe since countries are realizing the cruelty involved, fur-bearing animals are not domesticated like farm animals so the suffering is extreme and unlike farm animals, the US has no welfare laws to protect animals on fur farms.
Fur is cruel, unnecessary and on the decline. We are no longer living in the Stone Age.
If animals can wear fur, why can’t humans, as long as they don’t behave like beasts procuring them?
ultimatly is everybodies personal choice to wear a fur coat or not.
just the same as it is a opersonal choice to wear cheap cloths made in far east sweatshops, only there it is not the animal but the human that gets ‘tortured”.
as i said before, best we all just go naked…
The fur industry is no more cruel than factory farms producing our food. In fact if the fur or leather was derived as a byproduct of properly utilizing all of a harversted animal I am all for it. I am more concerned with the horrendous and wasteful way we use our resources. And yes that includes animals.
“Fur is beautiful……I don’t see the difference if an animal is used for its skin or if you eat it………..wild or domestic……….what does it matter? God created animals for our use”
I have to believe that this person only said this to start a fight on WHYS. Animals are abused all over this planet. They are used and abused for their fur, skins, meat, medical research, entertainment, and labor. When they are farmed for meat, it is so that others may eat and survive. I do not condone this and try not to eat that much meat, because I do not want an animal to suffer for my dinner. A person can also buy free range anything in supermarkets, there is an industry that watches over these farms and businesses that make their money off of the meat of another animal, and so that discussion we can hold for another day. Animals are used for medical research to find cures for cancer and disease; they are also used for cosmetic research. These techniques are the best examples of modern thinking….in the 50’s and 60’s. We don’t need to use them anymore. There is no need to continue the suffering of ANY animal for a better lipstick. That is unforgivable in this day and age. BUT, to farm, and torture and murder another living creature because a person wants to wear a nice coat, is heinous and intolerable. Many, many top designers create wonderful wardrobes, belts, jacket’s and shoes by NOT using animal products. Buying them is completely easy and fashionable. Fur, is about vanity. Fur, is about selfishness, and unimaginable cruelty. Any person on this planet that is paying attention to the creatures we share this planet with does not wear fur. Those people that do are just that unaware, that stupid, or that heartless. The job of an animal rights activist is to educate. Because anyone with any amount of compassion or feeling would never wear fur once they have seen pictures of the torture and pain that the animal must go through for vanity.
Fur is not ok, fur is murder. Animals are smart and sensitive beings, and they do have their own reasons to live, they are not ours to use in any way – whether that’s for clothing, food, “science”, etc. Animals deserve their freedom, and humans have no right to capture them or use them in any way, just like we have no right to capture and/or use other humans for whatever reason. Fur, just like meat, is a dead body of someone who wanted to live – just like we do.
sure mariana,
that is why we are omnivores with one stomach.
Sounds to me like fur is not the problem, the fur industry is the problem, so they ought to clean up their practices.
I suggest that the fur industries hire Temple Grandin to study and then revise their practices.
How can just an industry be wrong, and not the product? Everything connected with fur is WRONG and absolutely USELESS. We don’t have the right to imprison any animal for our own needs. And still, if those animals actually WERE kept in best surrounding ever, with everything they needed, it still would be wrong because the methods of execution are horrible. There is NO excuse for using animals for that purpose, it’s not like we live on the North Pole! Yeah, if you were an Eskimo you wouldn’t have much choice, wouldn’t you? You also couldn’t eat anything that is not fish or any other animal, but nobody not me or any other activist or animal lover can blame them, because, in the conditions those people AND those animals live TOGETHER, the way of life seems natural and fair. That goes for tribes that still live in the wild as it did for every other human that lived in caves or woods and lived day by day by the rule – eat or be eaten. Nobody will eat you today!! You don’t even need leather, how could you POSSIBLY need furs? It’s really silly if you think that way. You CAN make a change – say NO to fur and pass that on!
Fur…well to all the people against it so sorry for the loss to you.Most who oppose it are ALWAYS wearing leather, whether it’s as small as a belt,or a purse, shoes, etc, eating that famous McDonald’s cheeseburger, which must be beef free!!The alternative faux fur is the harm to the planet in which all the anti fur people want us to wear instead.The green term means that if you burry a fur coat vs a faux fur, fur will return to ashes where as the fake will not, it will give us more pollutants than our natural product.
Look at Oprah she is now supporting PETA while wearing her Jimmie Choo’s and Hermes purses, hypocrite. Are you? Think about it, in a bigger way other than cute little animal. Poor cows and chickens who feed the world??!!! And wasn’t Adam and Eve the first furriers living off the land, not to mention Inuit, natives, etc…
This is Rosalie again. Thanks everyone for all your comments.
This issue clearly evokes strong views from both sides. Not only is it being hotly debated on WHYS, it is being discussed this week at government levels in both Israel and Finland.
As some of you have noted, the Israeli government voted today on a bill to ban the farming and processing, import, export and sale of fur from all animal species that aren’t already part of the meat industry. But the proposed ban would not include fur used on fur trimmed hats worn for religious purposes (http://www.israel21c.org/201002187707/social-action/israel-may-be-the-first-to-go-furless). Some of you are asking why this such an exemption should be made.
Fur farming is also stirring controversy in Finland this week. The Prime Minister said talks would be held on fur farming, following a large protest on Monday. An undercover video was broadcast on public tv last week, documenting apparent animal welfare violations at a number of fur farms in the country. Animal protection groups calling for the resignation of the Agricultural Minister. The minister dismissed the resignation calls as unfounded (http://www.helsinkitimes.fi/htimes/domestic-news/politics/9977-anti-fur).
What do you think? Keep your comments coming!
It seems like the whole world is discussing the issue of fur this week!
Over the last couple of weeks people have been speaking out against this cruel trade all over the world.
We’ve already heard about Canadian protests and the proposed Israeli ban. There were also fur protests in Madrid on Sunday (http://www.reuters.com/news/video/story?videoId=46359406&videoChannel=1) and protesters in Helsinki, Finland marched on Monday to deliver a 7000 signature anti-fur petition to the government. Too many other small protests to mention.
All these people can’t be wrong can they? Fur is cruel and it must be banned!
it is a torturous procedure for those animals; it is not like they had a proper life before they were killed, it is not like they were hunted…because it was primal human existance on Earth – I kill what I eat and wear
nowadays, people do not have to hunt the animals to survive
there are other sources of food and fabrics to wear clothes on
don t you think it is amoral to wear the animals body after all the agony it s been through?
I think that most people that wear fur do not think about that
I am sure that, if they had to make their coat on their own they couldn t do it, they would not kill the animal, they couldn t even hunt them down
than, what are they thinking about when wearing fur? that animal s agony is justified for the cause of wearing their pretty dead bodies?
people should think about that odd smell that surrounds them when wearing fur – it is the smell of disgus, agony and death and nothing more
it’s not ok to wear another person. ok, animals are not persons legally, but they have personalities, every and each one of them has.
don’t wear persons!
Rosalie, it is wrong wrong wrong to wear fur! It is NOT OK!! Especially when you consider that there are alternatives that look the same and don’t involve cruelty or slaughter. The industry is not only harmful to the environment, it also depletes various animal populations (e.g. seals) and is infamous for it’s cruelty and immorality. All this for clothes that you can get synthetic versions of anyway. Seems not only cruel, but pointless.
To wear fur or not is a moral – and therefore an individual – view.
If you think it is wrong, fine, I respect that view. If I think it is OK, then give me the same respect. That is the basis of democracy rather than hypocrisy.
Man has been “harnessing” animal products for millions of years and if you think that will stop then you are being naive.
In saying that, all animals should be treated with highest possible welfare considerations. That is why there are laws governing the farming and slaughter of all types of animals. Yes, there are people involved with fur that abuse animals but you know what? There are more dog and cat owners that do the same thing.
Are you proposing to ban all ownership of domestic animals because a few abuse them? No, you apply welfare laws and prosecute. The same should be done to ANYONE that mistreats animals.
By the way, the fur industry does NOT deplete the seal population – just ask the UK and other national fishing industries!
It s a legal trade that operates under the same animal welfare laws as other farming industries. Do you wish to ban all of those too?
And finally – it IS possible to identify fur that has come from a country with animal welfare legislation in force…… read about the Origin Assured label!
http://www.originassured.com/
I don’t wear fur, but i sure wear leather shoes, leather belts, carry a leather purse and I watch cricket, which is played with a leather ball. What about them?
I love my fur coat, its full of animal personality. That’s the best part, all of that wonderful personality harvested and tanned into it. Animals should be more boring, then there wouldn’t be as much personality in their fur and I wouldn’t want to wear it.
When I see people wearing fur I cann’t help but wishing them the same hell that these helpless animals they are wearing had to go through. Evil don’t you think? The craziness and shallowness of humankind is pathetic. Well yea leather is not any better in the respect of the other animal. Animals are not for humans to use in any way. All animals are individuals with their own feelings and needs. Animals can feel pain, fear – you name it. – just like you can. When we humans see other animals as products, we are lost. Why shouldn´t non-human animals have the right to there owns lives?
I love wearing furs. Real fur is beautiful and it looks great on a person with panache, attitude, confidence, good looks, and flair. Much of the hatred of real fur comes from its alleged “class” association and the myth that only the very rich wear fur. There may also be an anti-Semitic component to anti-fur beliefs. I’ve heard that much anti-fur sentiment originated with the racist British National Party because many Jews worked in the fur industry. Indeed, many right-wing fascist groups support animal “rights” which makes them implicitly anti-fur, but then fascists have always hated beauty, style, and fashion as “cosmopolitan” and un-nationalistic, and they love to force their opinions on others. I’ve come to despise the anti-fur types who want to force their beliefs onto me. I’ve read the so-called “educational” material and emotional celebrity testimonials at animal “rights” websites and I prefer NOT to accept their silly, juvenile propaganda. Indeed, I have the inclination to boycott the music, films, programs, etc. of all the clueless grade-Z celebs, has-beens, and also-rans who claim to adhere to an anti-fur stance.