Meet Elsa. She is one of 17 rescue foxes that were supposed to be killed for fur. They have been given new homes where they have to learn their natural behaviors from scratch. They can now feel grass under their feet and dig holes in the ground as deep and as often as they wish. Isn’t she beautiful?
Unlike Elsa, billions of other animals do not get the chance to live naturally. Contrary to a certain belief, humane fur does not exist.
Animals such as minks, rabbits, raccoons and others are kept in shopping trolley sized cages for their whole lives in disgusting conditions. Genital or anal electrocution is the most common killing method because it doesn’t damage the fur. Assuming of course that the animal is actually killed before it’s skinned which is not as obvious as you’d expect.
Why autumn?
Using the farming language, autumn is a harvest period. It’s also the season of demand where we look into buying coats and winter accessories. Whilst we see trees changing color and mini leaf tornadoes, millions of animals are losing their lifes to end up as someone’s pompom. Messed up that is.
Why ugly?
Let me cite a classic.
“Fur is worn only by beautiful animals and ugly people”
*Warning* This video contains drastic images. If you are a fur supporter, watch it.
Fur is cheaper than you think.
We believe a faux fur label is truthful especially when the item is cheap as biscuits. This article by BBC shows high street examples of hidden fur in faux fur pieces of clothing. David who bought a faux fur hat for his daughter on Amazon realized he has been lied to. His dog went nuts when it arrived. It turned out the hat was made of a raccoon.
Fur production in China is incredibly quick and cheap. If you watched the above video you can see that. For that reason, retailers often do not know themselves that their fashion pieces contain fur especially when their products are manufactured in China. Or do they? It’s cheap after all? 
Either way, labels cannot be trusted which is why we should all learn to differentiate faux fur from real fur. There are plenty of guides online, here is one by dodo.
Fur is closer than you think.
I never in a million years would expect someone from my close surroundings to wear fur. Not to mention produce clothing consisting of it. For some reason I thought it is a very distant trend that I personally cannot stop. One day I spoke to my close relative on the phone about hats and scarfs she makes. Suddenly I hear the words ‘really cute fox pom poms‘. I hoped I misunderstood, but no, she assured me she meant genuine fox tails.
I still cannot believe that my close family member is a part of such a heartless industry. My heart broke a little. Disappointment was enormous.
This made me realize that fur supporters, wearers and producers are among us. Not only celebrities and fashion designers drive this force but people like you and I. Family members and friends.
We have to be more careful when choosing our garments as it isn’t a distant trend what so ever. As I mentioned many times, your voice matters.
I don’t buy fur. What else can I do?
Speaking of celebrities, do you support public figures that wear fur? Perhaps you do not know if you do?
There are celebs who do not deserve our attention and money. I know this might be difficult for fans but it’s the truth.
When the beloved Rihanna was asked in an interview why she wears fur shes said “because it’s expensive“.
I don’t know about you but to me that’s pretty damn shallow.
JLo strucks her fur coats on Instagram pretty often despite thousands of comments to stop doing it.
The Kardashians are everywhere not giving a single toss about animals. Not only teenagers follow their example which unfortunately is a very sad fact.
Apart from wearing a dress made of animal’s muscle, Lady Gaga doesn’t stray from their fur either.
Madonna, Chris Brown, Beyonce, Kate Moss, Justin Bieber, Demi Moore, Lindsey Lohan. The list goes on.
With such a great popularity, they could do so much good and save so many lives. Yet they show support for cruelty.
I’d rather support someone with a heart of gold rather than stone, thanks.
Fur industry is one of the cruelest things we have ever invented. It’s out of date, unnecessary , disrespectful and heartless. It has to end. Act now and sign the petitions. Spread the word and don’t buy fur.
Petitions – they won’t take more than 5 minutes.
Ban Fur from London fashion week.
Ban the UK import of farmed fur
Ask Ireland to Ban Fur Farms More than 150,000 mink are being gassed and skinned every year on Irish farms.
Stop the Cruel Dog and Cat Fur Trade
Stop eBay selling fur from Chinese Fur Farms
Are you a beautiful person?
Along the same lines – fox hunting
Image Credit: Credit: Otwarte Klatki / Flickr / (CC BY 2.0)
