Fur is Dead
Uploaded by tyson_626 on Feb 28, 2005
Fur is Dead
Taking a look into a once strong industry, shocking facts are revealed. The fur industry brings in an average of $1.5 billion in sales each year. Furs were considered a beautiful and feminine version of clothing by many women, until the public became aware of the horrors that accompany the industry. Activists have been a voice for animals tortured for their fur, making the public aware, and diminishing the old view of fur. Approximately 3.5 million fur-bearing animals are killed each year by trappers, and another 2.7 million are raised on fur 'farms'. (1)
The fur industry is a 'for-profit' venture, meaning methods that maximize production and keep costs at a low rate are used, this often leaves no room for humane treatment. About 90% of all ranched fur bearers are minks. (2) Foxes, rabbits, and chinchillas account for most of the remainder. These animals are kept in filthy, cramped, and diseased conditions. Foxes are kept in wire-mesh cages only 2.5 feet square, with up to four animals per cage. Minks and other species are typically kept in 1-foot-by-3-foot cages, again with up to four animals per cage. Animals born at fur farms live very short lives, and because profit is the grand interest, the cheapest methods are used to slaughter the animals. The cheapest methods are also the most inhumane, crude, and cruel methods.
Trapping is also a method for obtaining furs. The suffering that follows trapping makes fur farms seem almost humane. There are various types of traps, such as snares, box traps, cage traps, and the most commonly used, the leg trap. This is a simple yet crude device, and has been banned in 63 countries, and four U.S states.(3) Greta Nilsson exposes the inhumane trap in "Facts About Furs":
When an animal steps on the leghold trap spring, the trap's jaws slam down 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...