Wearing fur was once a fashion statement. Nowadays, an increasing number of designers are choosing not to use fur in their garments as a statement that they are against animal cruelty. Despite the trend turning against fur over the past decades, each year well in excess of 50 million animals still suffer and die as victims of the international fur trade. This industry has turned to new tactics to sell its unnecessary product. By decorating coats and other fashion items with a fur 'trim' the fur industry has set yet another trap, this time for unwitting customers.

The Victims

The list of animals suffering for fur production is long. Mink, foxes and rabbits are the most frequently bred, but also squirrels, badgers, wallabies, possums, racoons, beavers, lynxes, coyotes, seals, otters, bears, chinchillas, martens, bobcats, dogs and cats are killed for their fur. The number of animals that need to die for 1 fur coat varies from 6-12 for seals and lynxes up to more than one hundred for squirrels. Even for fur trim, mass production of these items equates to huge numbers of animals who suffer and die unnecessarily.

Fur Factory Farms

Eighty-five percent of the fur industry's skins come from animals raised in 'battery' cages (2), where animals are deprived of any form of quality of life and the ability to perform their natural and instinctual behaviours.

For example, in the wild mink live near streams and lakes where they swim, climb trees, make nests and hunt. Mink live solitary lives and are naturally very inquisitive animals. On fur farms, they are forced to live their lives in small wire cages. The unsuitable living conditions cause chronic boredom and stress which lead to behavioural abnormalities such as running up and down their cages endlessly or twisting the head continuously. More »

Wildlife Traps

The fur industry also employs wildlife traps to catch millions of wild animals. Traps, including steel-jaw leghold traps, body-gripping traps, underwater traps and wire neck snares, are cruel devices that inflict great and prolonged pain as they are either not designed to kill or fail to do so.

Wildlife traps are not selective; they don't discriminate between animal species. For every 'wanted' animal, another one to four so called 'trash' animals such as deer or birds, endangered animals and even domestic dogs and cats get trapped and often die an agonising pointless death. (4) More »

The most widely used trap is the leghold trap which consists of two spring-loaded jaws that slam onto the limb of an animal once they step on it. The jaws cut into the flesh, often down to the bone, leaving the animal to languish in pain for hours or even days until they die of their injuries or get killed by the hunter. Some animals gnaw off the trapped limb to free themselves, but have little chance to survive in the wild. Steel-Jaw leghold traps are banned in many countries, but still widely used to trap fur animals in the US, Canada and Russia. Australia allows the use of the steel-jaw leghold trap primarily for 'pest' control of wild dogs and dingos in grazing zones; fur is rarely sourced from Australia.

Each year traps in the US alone injure and kill millions of "nontarget" animals, including domestic dogs and cats.

Despite multi million dollar government funded research projects over decades to develop 'humane' traps that kill instantly, to date no such alternative has been found. These tests have only resulted in more animals suffering in experiments to measure the length of time before they die.

Dog and Cat Fur

Around 2 million dogs and cats are bred or taken from the street and killed in China each year for their fur. (4) These animals are squeezed in tiny wire cages like sardines, sometimes transported for days without food or water, hanged, bled to death, beaten to death, strangled with wire nooses and regularly skinned alive. Many of the animals still have collars on, a sign that they were once someone’s beloved companions.

Australia, like the EU and US, has banned the import of dog and cat fur. But international investigations show that Chinese dog and cat fur is frequently mislabelled as for example fox, rabbit or mink fur. Even accessories, trinkets and children toys have been found decorated with dog and cat fur.

A large proportion of fur used on lower cost items is from rabbits. China is the world’s largest producer of rabbits and, with no animal welfare laws, the caging, transport and killing methods of these animals is abysmal — whether for meat or fur.

The Environment

The fur industry is desperate to brand fur as a 'natural', 'ecological' and 'environmentally friendly product'. This however is far from the truth.

The manure produced by the intensive farming practices of millions of animals for fur cause an enormous strain on the environment. It pollutes soil and water and contributes to global warming. On top of that many harmful chemicals are used in the processing of raw fur skins into clothes. Due to the chemicals used, fur is far from being a natural or ecological product. In fact it is not even biodegradable because of treatment to stop it from rotting.

A Look Inside a Chinese Fur Farm

China is the largest fur producer in the world. China also has no laws to protect animals. Millions of rabbits, foxes, minks, racoons, etc suffer in the most extreme ways imaginable on Chinese fur farms and while they have their skins stripped off alive.

You Can Help — Make Compassion the New Fashion!

• Take the Pledge to be Fur Free!
• Be alert! More and more real fur is 'hidden' in mainstream clothes as trim or lining. From suit collars, hoods, revers, cuffs, glove linings, fur is being used as an accessory for many fashion items. Never just expect it to be faux fur. Test Before You Buy.
• A growing number of retailers and designers are rejecting animal cruelty by adopting fur-free policies. Check our Fur Free Shopping List to make sure you can shop without worrying.
• Notify us if you see a retail store selling real fur. Also ask to speak to the manager and politely explain that animals killed for their fur are often electrocuted, gassed, beaten to death, or even skinned alive. Urge them to stock only faux-furs and other cruelty-free fashion. Follow up by sending a letter to their head-office about your concerns.
• Complain to the editor if you see a magazine advertising or promoting real fur. Inform them about the brutal treatment of animals for fur. Please also notify us of the article.
• Remind any fur-wearing friends or colleagues that there is nothing stylish about fur. Encourage them to adopt compassion as their fashion by going faux.

References

1) Humane Society of the United States
2) International Fur Trade Federation, “Fur Farming,” 2006.
3) Reuters, “What Captive Minks Miss Most—Swimming,” 28 Feb. 2001
4) Bont voor Dieren, The Netherlands