Fur

(CC) Image by Paul Williams

(CC) Image by Nettverk for dyrs frihet

Fashion designers today seem obsessed with using fur in their latest collections. It may feel soft, warm and glamorous but the fur belongs to the animal and not to humans. Many people know the cruelty involved in the production of a fur coat yet they still continue to buy fur and flaunt it as a status symbol. Rich women, including many celebrities seem to think it makes them look beautiful and rich when in reality it shows they are boastful and lacking in morals.These women enjoy having a coat made from real animal, as real fur is more expensive and rarer than faux fur so less people are able to afford and wear it.

Animals Used For Fur

The fur industry uses any fur bearing animal it can get it's hands on. The most commonly used animals are: Bobcat, Bear, Beaver, Cat, Chinchilla, Coyote, Coypu, Dog, Fox, Hamster, Jackal, Lynx, Mink, Nutria, Otter, Possum, Racoon, Racoon Dog, Sable, Seal & Weasel.

Methods Of Slaughter

All animals in the fur industry suffer immense torture. Animals on fur farms are skinned alive then left for hours to die, skinless. This causes unimaginable pain and even seeing images or videos of this process can scar a person for life. Animals can be anally electrocuted which involves a metal pipe being inserted into the rectum of the animal then electrocuting it from the inside. This process is done in order to leave the fur undamaged. Animals may have their heads bashed in by human feet, pickaxes, bits of wood, metal pipes, shovels and any other object available to the worker. Wild animals are trapped in steel traps and can be left for days in agony trying to escape. Many may chew off their own legs to get out of the trap.

Fur Farms

Animals are kept in tiny and filthy cages for their whole lives. They are often unable to turn around and suffer psychological and physical distress due to limb pain, infection and illness. They also have nothing stimulation to do in the cramped cages and are forced to live in their own excretion. Regardless of what country the fur farm is located in, the same factory farm style cages are employed. The fur industry does this so as to breed as many animals as physically possible, ensuing maximum profit.

One Fur Coat

Depending on the length and size of a coat, and the animal used, the amount of animals used to make one fur coat can be up to 200. All of these poor animals would have spent their entire lives in cages (unless killed in the wild) to then have faced an excruciating death . All this suffering is simply not worth one fur coat.

No Fur Is Ethical

The simple answer is no. One fur coat, containing around 50 animals, can contain fur from up to 50 different fur farms. Fur coats and trims are not made from animal fur from the same fur farm, instead the fur pelts are piled up in groups depending on colour. No fur farms are ethical but some have a slightly less barbaric way of killing the animals. As a result, the most brutally slaughtered animals and the slightly more humanely killed animals are compiled into one coat.

Mislabeled Fur

Fur that comes from China and other Asian countries is sometimes mislabelled as either faux fur or a different animal. Dog and Cat fur is never labelled properly, instead the Chinese Fur industry may refer to it as; Gae-wolfs, obaki, asian jackal, goupe, loup d'Asie, corsac fox, dogues du Chine, exotic fur, katzenfelle, rabbit, goyangi and mountain cat. Even fur free designers and high street stores have been found to mislabel real fur as faux.

Fur Wearing Celebrities

Jennifer Lopez, The Olsen Twins, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Beyonce, Jay Z, P Diddy, Lil Kim, Kobe Bryant, Aretha Franklin, Eva Longoria, Victoria Beckham, Nicole Ritchie, Jessica Simpson, Brooke Shields, Sharon Stone, Kid Rock, Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Demi Moore, Ashton Kutcher, Kate Hudson, Goldie Hawn, Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears, Kelis, Marilyn Manson, Mary J Blige, Tara Reid, Lenny Kravitz, Whitney Houston, Sarah Jessica Parker, Rhianna and many more celebrities.

Which Designers Use Fur?

Unfortunately, most designers use fur in their collections because they can make such huge profits from them. Some of the fur using designers include; Anna Sui, Armani, Burberry, Chloe, D & G, Dior, DKNY, Fendi, Gianfranco Ferre, Gucci, Jasper Conrad, Jean-Paul Galtier, Louis Vuitton, Mark Jacobs, Max Mara, Miu Miu, Ozwald Boateng, Prada, Pucci, Roberto Cavalli, Rocawear, Sean John, Valentino, Vera Wang, Versace, Yves Saint Laurent & Zhandra Rhodes.

Some Fur Free Designers

Every year more and more designers commit to being fur free because of advancements in faux furs technology and the outrage consumers feel. These are some of the major fur free designers: Abercrombie & Fitch, Betty Jackson, Calvin Klein, Ed Hardy, Helly Hanson, John Bartlett, Juicy Couture, Kenneth Cole, Lacoste, Lauren Conrad, Liz Claiborne, Nicole Miller, Ralph Lauren, Stella McCartney & Tommy Hilfiger.