Realities of the fur trade (From Echo)
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Realities of the fur trade
11:34am Thursday 1st December 2011 in Letters
It is shocking to see how many shops in Leigh are selling fur. This is Anti-Fur Week and demonstrations have been taking place across the country.
The fur industry trades in the suffering and torture of defenceless animals.
These animals live a life of misery. They are kept in terrible conditions, suffer agonising deaths and are often skinned alive.
If people were to witness this kind of treatment of an animal, they would be horrified.
So why do some people still buy fur? I think it is simply that they are unaware of the horrors.
Major retailers like Top Shop, Next, M&S, House of Fraser and many more have all pledged to be fur free. Please say no to fur and all that fur represents.
Debbie Zarb-Cousin
Southend Animal Aid
The Broadway
Thorpe Bay
Comments(10)
nota
says...
11:18am Fri 2 Dec 11
PaulStig
says...
3:09pm Fri 2 Dec 11
Carrie.C
says...
4:05pm Fri 2 Dec 11
emcee
says...
4:52am Sat 3 Dec 11
PaulStig wrote:Erm, the act of war cannot be improved upon in the same way that the fur trade can and, indeed, has.
Quote: "Anti-fur is so 80s..." - that's like saying anti-war is so 60s. There is no reason in today's society and with modern fabrics, to kill an animal simply for it's skin and to throw the carcass away. It's barbaric and any trader that deals in fur should be ashamed of themselves!
However, I agree that throwing the carcass away is a waste. I believe some could be used as a by-product for certain industries, farming or as feed.
Actually, a lot of fur is also a by-product anyway, such as from rabbits, kangaroo and other animals that need to be culled. These animal can be and, indeed are eaten too. The fur is also often used from animals killed because of their pest status in certain countries, such as grey squirrel, fox or possum.
Gone are the days when you can buy a coat made from endangered species or those not taken from culled or pest species are from humane farms. I doubt you will find many shops in the UK that sell fur of dubious origin. There may be the odd one but they will be few and far between.
Nebs
says...
9:38am Sat 3 Dec 11
nota
says...
5:14pm Sat 3 Dec 11
emcee
says...
12:47am Sun 4 Dec 11
nota wrote:Maybe cats and dogs are bred for the fur trade. However, what makes these animals any different from any other animal bred for fur. If they humanely cared for and dispatched then I see no problem. If, however, a UK trader (such as those in Leigh as referred to by the OP) are trading fur from dubious sources then there is a legitimate case to answer. However, the whole fur trade should not be condemned for the actions of the odd dodgy fur trader.
How do you explain dogs and cats being bred for fur. Unfortunately firm trim on many products is from dogs and cats and I can assure you this is not humane.
nota
says...
5:53pm Tue 6 Dec 11
pinkpiggywigs
says...
8:31pm Tue 6 Dec 11
e they killed the animal themselves and ate the remains.. but the only difference now is that we have alternative synthetic materials.. so why are shops in Leigh still selling real fur? last time i checked the owners weren't Inuits.. the only reason i can think of is because they want to make maximum profit by buying in cheap clothing from China.. but is it worth making a few more pounds when it's at the expense of an animals life? in addition the reason why these fur items are 'made in china' is because the animals are killed so brutally on a mass scale.. which is the main reason why England stopped the fur trade in the first place.. because it's so INHUMANE ..(United Kingdom—Under the Fur Farming (Prohibition) Act of 2000, England and Wales banned fur farming completely. All fur farms in England and Wales had to be shut down by January 1, 2003. Northern Ireland and Scotland both banned fur farming shortly afterwards. There are now no fur farms anywhere in the U.K.) .. i'm sorry to break it to you 'emcee' but More than 50 million animals are violently killed for use in fashion every year.. and i'm sure this amount of fur is not produced by the 'few dodgy traders' in the fur industry.
emcee says...
1:44pm Thu 1 Dec 11
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And your proof that any of these shops deal in fur from animals who suffer all this is? Most fur is, these days, humanely retrieved. Fur has been used for thousand of years as clothing but the only difference is that most of it is now farmed and under controlled conditions. OK, so there will always be a few dodgy traders but there is an any industry.
Anti-fur is so 1980s and even though, I dare say, some cruelty may still exist in the trade you cannot tar every fur retailer with the same "cruel trade" brush.