I'm still blown away when I see people wearing fur. It's inconceivable to me that some people can be so ignorant or indifferent to animal suffering. Fur belongs on its original owner!
Here are some staggering stats regarding the number of animals it 'takes' to
make a coat.
| |
Number of target
animals in 40" coat |
|
Number of 'Trash'
animals per coat |
|
Total hours
spent in a trap |
Coyote
Lynx
Mink
Opossum
Otter
Red Fox
Raccoon
Sable
Seal
Muskrat
Beaver |
16
18
60
45
20
42
40
50
8
50
15 |
|
48
54
180
135
60
126
120
150
-
150
45 |
|
960
1080
3600
2700
1200
2520
2400
3000
32
1500
225 |
| (Statistics from Skin Trade Primer by Susan Russell, published by Friends
of Animals) |
Some fur comes from animals caught in horrific traps.
Leghold, Conibear traps and snares are non-selective devices, which means that
there are many 'non intended' animals who get caught in these barbaric contraptions.
These traps are banned in
88 countries, but
leghold traps are still widely used in the United States and Canada. We're
definitely a nation behind the times in this case!
Legholds are spring-loaded steel jaws that clamp shut on an animal's foot once
it's sprung. It causes injuries and loss of circulation.
Conibear traps are square or rectangular "scissor-action" traps in which an
animal passing through the middle is caught as the two sides are snapped
together. Snares are wire strangulation noose that tightens around an animal's
neck or body. It is usually used on fences to hang animals or under water to
drown animals. There is no other description for these than barbaric!
This is a picture of a poor fox caught in a trap that is used for catching
animals. The animals are stuck in the trap for hours or
even days before the trapper comes to pick them up. Some animals try to chew and
bite their own limbs off just to get out of the trap. That sure speaks volumes
about the pain they must be in. There are much more graphic
photos of this type of thing, but I just can't stomach looking at them...they
break my heart.
When the animal finally is killed, it's not quick and painless. The trapper's main
priority is the fur, so the objective is to kill the animal without damaging the fur,
which can lead to especially cruel methods. Here's a trapper standing on a coyote's
neck in order to suffocate the poor animal. This is sickening..and it must stop.
Fur also comes from 'fur farms'. Millions of animals are killed each
year in these farms. The animals are kept in small, cramped cages.
They live in circumstances that go completely against their instincts. Beavers
are made to live on cement floors instead of in the water. The foxes, who normally
roams over 2,000 to 15,000 acres is forced to stay in a tiny cage. Minks are
solitary animals by nature, but in the farms they are forced to live in extremely
close contact with other animals.
This lifestyle causes severe stress that can lead to cannibalism and self-mutilation.
The only peace the animals will have will come after death, but even death is
torturous. Killing is not quick and painless...methods including gassing, poison,
electrocution, suffocation and neck breaking are common place on these farms.
Look at the photo of this mink and remember that 60 of these animals will have
to suffer a horrible death...just to make one coat.
The HSUS has published "How Do Fur Animals Die?" which lists animals and the methods used to kill them. This will shock you...but must be read!
PETA has a good article about an undercover investigation at a fur farm. It will
shock and sadden you, but it is important to learn what's going on, and what you
can do to help. Check it out!
Please visit the links page for more information.
