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Fur - the ugly face of fashionWARNING: The following information and images are extremly disturbing. Fur: Mean, Not "Green"Fur has fallen so far from grace that furriers are now trying to convince consumers that pelts are 'eco-friendly.' But nothing could be further from the truth! Furs are loaded with chemicals to keep them from decomposing in the buyer's closet, and fur production pollutes the environment and gobbles up precious resources. And don't forget: Unlike faux fur, the 'real thing' causes millions of animals to suffer every single year. Fur Is Eco-Unfriendly Did you know that more than 60 times as much energy is needed to produce fur coats from ranch-raised animals than is needed to produce fake furs? And
that's just the beginning. Trapping and Trashing WildlifeApproximately 30 percent of the fur sold in the U.S. comes from animals trapped in the wild. As anyone who stops to think about it will quickly realize, traps are indiscriminate: They catch any animal unfortunate enough to stumble upon them. Every year, hundreds of thousands of dogs, cats, birds, and other animals including endangered species are 'accidentally' crippled or killed by traps. Trappers call these animals 'trash kills' because they have no economic value, and most are simply discarded like garbage. Animals who survive and are released often die later from their injuries. Jaws and PawsThere are various types of traps, including snares, box traps, and cage traps, but the leghold trap is the most widely used. This simple but barbaric device has been banned in 63 countries, as well as in Florida, Rhode Island, New Jersey, and Arizona.(3) When an animal steps on the leghold trap spring, the trap's jaws slam on the animal's limb. Dr. Robert E. Cape explains that "if the trap is properly anchored, the captured animal will struggle to get loose, mutilating the foot and causing deep, painful lacerations. Or the animal will attempt escape by chewing or twisting off the trapped extremity. Ten to 12 hours after being captured, the animal is still in pain." After a prolonged time, he explains, trapped animals "will suffer from exhaustion, since they expend such a great amount of energy in attempting to escape. With exhaustion, the animal suffers from exposure, frostbite, shock, and eventually death."(4) Death and Disease Contrary to fur industry propaganda, there is no ecologically sound reason to trap animals for "wildlife management." In fact, trapping disrupts wildlife populations by killing healthy animals needed to keep their species strong, and populations are further damaged when the parents of young animals are killed. Left alone, animal populations can and do regulate their own numbers. Even if human intervention or an unusual natural occurrence caused an animal population to rise temporarily, the group would soon stabilize through natural processes no more cruel, at their worst, than the pain and trauma of being trapped and slaughtered by humans. Killing animals because they might starve or might get sick is only an excuse for slaughter motivated by greed. China's Shocking Dog and Cat Fur TradePeople for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) conducted an undercover investigation into the Chinese dog and cat fur trade to show you what the industry is so desperate to hide. Even our veteran investigators were horrified at what they found: Millions of dogs and cats in China are being bludgeoned, hanged, bled to death, and strangled with wire nooses so that their fur can be turned into trim and trinkets. This fur is often deliberately mislabeled as fur from other species and is exported to countries throughout the world to be sold to unsuspecting customers in retail stores. China supplies more than half of the finished fur garments imported for sale in the United States, so the bottom line is that because dog and cat fur is so often mislabeled, if you're buying fur, there's no way to tell whose skin you're wearing. You Can Help!Please write a letter to the Chinese ambassador urging China to enact an animal welfare law that will stop the cruel handling of dogs, cats, and other animals at markets and during transportation: Karakul Lamb Fur: Cruelty on the CatwalkAs if peddling the skin and fur of a tortured, electrocuted adult animal weren't bad enough, some heartless designers take fashion cruelty to a whole new level with a particularly grisly "killer" look: astrakhan, also known as "broadtail" or "Persian wool" - the fur of newborn and fetal karakul lambs who are bred by the thousands in Central Asia for the bloody fur trade. What can you do about karakul lamb fur?
For more information, visit karakul or watch the undercover fur-farm investigation narrated by Stella McCartney. FarmingFurriers say their "farms" are modern: Their cages are spacious and clean, the animals are happy, and death is humane. You be the judge. A special report from US-based People for the Ethical Treatments of Animals. Shocking Cruelty on a California Chinchilla FarmThe case that resulted in cruelty charges against a California furrier who was caught electrocuting chinchillas by clipping wires to the animals' genitals. Genital Electrocution: A Real-Life Shock-Horror StoryRow after row of tiny wire-mesh cages, stacked four high and about 25 in a row, chinchillas peering watchfully through the wires, a rack of pelts hanging on a far wall. That's the scene that two PETA investigators found at a fur "factory" farm secluded in a quiet, snow-covered town in Michigan. PETA's Research & Investigations Department sent two undercover teams into fur "farms" in five states. Our investigators witnessed not only how animals live, but also how they die in the seedy world of fur farming. One method they documented had never been made public before: genital electrocution. Little Animals, Big SufferingDuring genital electrocution, the killer attaches an alligator clamp to the animal's ear and another to her labia and flips a switch, or plugs the wire into the wall socket, sending a jolt of electricity through her skin down the length of her body. She jerks and stiffens. But, according to biologist Leslie Gerstenfeld-Press, although the electrical current stops the heart, it does not kill her: In many cases, the animal remains conscious. The "Farm"The wire cages are tiny, filthy, and encrusted with dirt, clumps of fur, and excrement. Locked inside each one is a fox, imprisoned here since birth. Many of the foxes live for years in these hideous conditions before the farmer kills them and sells their fur to make coats, cuffs, collars, and trim. The Lab LinkThe foxes were fed cast-off chickens sent by a pharmaceutical company. The chickens, who have already suffered at the hands of experimenters, arrive by the thousands, their little hunched-over bodies shoved into sealed cardboard boxes without food, water, or space to move. Our investigator documented the farmer stacking the boxes upside down in a corner of his barn and covering them with a plastic tarp to slowly suffocate the chickens. For hours, the chickens could be heard trying to escape. When the farmer cut open the boxes and pulled them out, some were still alive. "The farmer forced the live chickens feet first into the grinder," recorded our investigator, "while they were conscious, fighting, squawking, and flapping for their lives. You could hear their screams over the roar of the engine. short." What can I do?
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Fashion links ![]() "Farm" fox ![]() "Farm" fox ![]() "Farm" mink ![]() Electrocuted ![]() Some fur farmers kill animals such as foxes by anal or vaginal electrocution. Animals who are electrocuted experience the intense pain of a heart attack while fully conscious. One electrode is clamped to the fox's muzzle and the other is inserted into the rectum, then the electric current is passed between them to kill the fox. The animals do not lose conciousness for 1-2 minutes. The time seems like an eternity, so one can only imagine how the animals must feel during this time with the electricity running from one end of their body to the other while heat builds up at the site of the electrode. Often the anal probe falls out. When this happens, the fox convulses, shakes, and often cries. ![]() "Farm" dog ![]() Dog's head ![]() Fur farm ![]() Fur farm ![]() Skinned fox ![]() Skinned rabbit ![]() Skinned domestic dogs ![]() Baby karakul ![]() Karakul skin ![]() Trapping cruel and indiscriminate: they catch any animal unfortunate enough to stumble upon them. Every year, hundreds of thousands of dogs, cats, birds, and other animals including endangered species are 'accidentally' crippled or killed by traps. Trappers call these animals 'trash kills' because they have no economic value, and most are simply discarded like garbage. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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