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The difference is, in a lot of cases how cute the animal is, mink and so on look nicer so they rank higher up the scale on animals its ok to use. Seals are another good example of this.
However, a lot of people dont like the conditions in which fur animals are kept in, very small cages and a generally bad enviroment.
The conditions the animals are kept in are bad, but it's no worse than the conditions in any other factory farming environment.
In all seriousness I would prefer to buy synthetic because of the farming environment, and because I strongly disapprove of the whole factory farming environment (as much as anything, free range meat tastes nicer) but my problem with fur is not that it was once a living being.
Hey - I realize that it isn't a big problem in the UK; however, if you are interested I've started a petition to try and stop fur sales (I'm mainly concerned with the US because it's become a problem here). I would appreciate if you take a look at it, if you sign please pass it along to your friends.
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/173538546
By the way, I am not a crazed activist; I think eating meat is good for people. Personally I choose not to, but I do not force my beliefs onto others. I understand that animals will die - but when a cow or a pig dies people eat the meat, they use the skin, and with the other parts they often make dog treats (pig/cow ears, hooves, snouts ect). When an animal is killed for it's fur, the rest of it is discarded. Also, the way the fur trade animals are treated is absolutely unnecessary - there is no reason that they have to live their lives in a cage and be skinned ALIVE. These animals deserve to be treated humanely and if they must be killed it should be done quickly - they should not lie gasping for air after their skin has already been removed.
Sure, the conditions are bad. A main difference between your beef steak and a fur coat is the method of killing. The beef doesn't have to look good on your plate, so they can kill it in a method that if it had fur, would damage the coat.
I do have a leather jacket though. Thing is, cow are not considered "cute" as said above. I think what is really disgusting though, is that cats are boiled alive in the far east.
But the issue is not with fur, it's with fur farms. It's a difference.
To be honest, I'm far more disgusted by what IAMS pet food company did in its animal testing, and by how foie gras is produced.
Is the problem with the fur industry only wastage?
I mean - you either give a shit about animal suffering therefore dont wear them or eat them, or its not a priority of yours so you eat them and wear them. Its a bit much for someone who happily munches on a steak to then start saying that people who wear fur are doing a terrible thing.
I can see why some people who eat meat wouldnt want to wear fur, obviously its up to the individual to decide which causes they support and I guess its better to do something than nothing if you really dont like the industry but its hypocritical to start shouting about it unless you dont eat animals either.
Personally I don't eat animals. I'm sorry but it is rather close minded to say that you don't see the difference, human survival is an acceptable reason to kill animals - I can find/afford other things to eat rather than animals but what about in these third world countries (where a lot of these fur farms are located), why can't they use the animal for food. If they are going to kill it anyway - feed some hungary people in the process.
Oh, and try going to the Steppes and tell me that fur isn't necessary. Even try going to Keswick on a cold January night and tell me that synthetic materials are as equally good as natural fur. Natural fur is better than any synthetic material, fact.
Im probably one of the more open minded posters on this board actually - Tell me what IS the difference from the animals point of view to be killed for food or for clothing? It doesnt make much difference once youve killed the thing.
eating meat has NOTHING to do with human survival in the western world. Are we having a go at people who wear fur in poorer countries too. Which one are we talking about here?
I have two major issues with the fur trade; one is the torture they put the animals through and two is the waste of the animal. Why must they torture the animal before they kill it - why does it have to be skinned ALIVE? Why, once the animal is dead can't they use the rest of it for something else?
When I watched that video of the animal being skinned, I couldn't think of anything but my tiny little dog. I just imagined her being killed like that. Animals do have feelings, maybe not like you and I, but that suffering animal definatly felt the pain of having it's skin removed. Can you really justify that?
If you can honestly tell me that fur coats are a necessity for human survival then I will agree with you. Above all else, human survival is most important. In NYC - FUR COATS ARE NOT A NECESSITY!!!! It's cold but it isn't that cold! I can get by easily with a cotten hoodie and a coat made of syntetic material. Maybe fur is warmer - but I can get by with out it.
I've never been to Steppes or Keswick - you'll have to let me know just how cold it is.
i have vowed NEVER to wear fur. i have respect for models who don't wear fur because of this reason :thumb: and im starting to hate jennifer lopez..damn she wears a lot of fur! grrrr....
fur is ok if ur an eskimo & trying to keep warm...but for us? c'mon!!!!!!!
i guess leather is a little better- i still wouln't wear it tho :no: if u rlly want to wear fur, why dont u just wear faux..it still looks the same..
yes! in slaughterhouses they -usually- kill the animal and then chop it to pieces. in the fur trade, they skin the poor things alive and then leave them to bleed to death. its horrible.
and i suggest everyone signs the petition mushy24 was talking about
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/173538546
it takes 5 seconds and you can even do it anynomously if you insist..
I dont believe that ALL fur farms skin their animals alive. I believe that the said practice probably does happen, in the same way that factory farming pigs and chickens does. I think there are bound to be farms that dont do that, and indeed the more I think about it, the more I think that skinning an animal alive is likely to be the messiest way of doing it, being that the blood would flow and the animal would struggle, unlike if it was euthanased before skinning, then the blood would pool and not damage the coat as much.
This website say they euthanase the mink by vetinarian approved standards with carbon monoxide or carbon dioxide. http://www.furcommission.com/farming/index.html#Anchor-Humane-35326
Thanks for checking out and signing my petition - it's nice to see that other people recognize the absolute horror that those poor animals are put though - and that they actually want to do something to stop it. :thumb:
Who showed you the videao fo the animal being skinend alive? I don't doubt that it does happen, but I do seriously doubt that it is likely, for the same reasons RB said.
And, again, I shall ask: what is the difference between killing an animal for it's fur, and killing an animal for it's meat? Also, if you can get any edible meat at all off a mink then you're doing damn well.
For the record, in winter the Russian Steppes often drop to below -25C. Think Siberia.
I'm going to say that I think I've already answered that question. Anyway - here it gets about -15 F. on a really REALLY bad winter day. Still, I can deal w/o the fur.
So why do you think its morally better to kill an animal for meat then? Its very easy and nutritionally sound to live without meat.
Well, I checked out that website and looked @ a few others, I'm glad to know that the video I saw is not the norm. I know that PETA is very extreme and tend to make things seem worse than they really are..... hell, for all I know, that one guy on the video could be the ONLY guy that would skin the animals alive. I think I've just realized that there are going to be sick people who don't give a shit about an animals life no matter what. I guess there isn't anything that people can do to stop that.
But for me..... I can't be convinced that fur coats are a necessity in an environment like mine - but people wear them anyway, so whatever.
:yes:
Word up about Siberia. It has hit -50ºc there before. Fur = Warmest thing going. Although out there most coats are not made from mink or designer furs.
Not all animals are skinned alive. Just some in some fur factories. Couldn't they give them lethal injection or something poisonus to make it more Humane? I can understand that point, but to say even after that it is bad is just taking the piss I feel, as fur has been worn for YEARS by mankind. They usually used to kill the animal though incase it fought back, they did tend to catch large things like bears. You try skinning a bear alive.
Meat isn't a necessity.
Why the hypocrisy?
Welcome to the site :wave:
Thanks! Glad to be here! :yippe: