to want a real fur coat

[choufleur]

I don't me made from baby seals or anything endangered but a rabbit one maybe.

I eat rabbit, so can't see the problem with wearing a coat made from a by product.

Can I ask something?

We've all seen the PETA stuff about how some animals are killed inhumanely for fur.

Does it therefore follow that ALL animals raised for fur are inhumanely killed?

Or is it possible that this is a minority occurrence and there are fur farms where animal welfare is considered, and the animals are cared for and despatched in the same way as animals raised for meat?

In which case, in the same way that I can buy free-range chicken can I buy a "humanely produced" fur coat?

I suspect the answer is that British attitudes to fur have driven fur farms to places like China where the regulation is less strict and such abuses are more likely.

I'm not in the market for a fur coat btw, just wondered.....

Yes, minimathsmouse, there are no nasties involved in making a fur coat... except the array of chemicals used as soaking and degreasing agents, enzymes, oils and greases, bleaches, dyes, reinforcing agents, toners, tanning and finishing chemicals.

In fact, workers exposed to dust created during fur processing have been shown to have reduced pulmonary function in direct proportion to their length of exposure.

Don't forget all the chemicals needed to clean it too.

I suppose all of that's needed as it is part of a dead body. You wouldn't want it to rot around you now.

Pastaplease, you really should have read my post. I haven't defended the wearing of fur. In fact I don't wear fur.

Chemical Nasties, yep lots, but nylon is made from petro chemicals and the cheap nasty fake fur coats made from this will not rot down. They are not biodegradeble. They are worse for the environment.

Of course the real answer is not to wear either. Done! I just wonder what animal lovers would have done with vintage furs?

well said to howdidthishappenthen and otchayanyiye :)

My boyfriend finds it bizarre that someone who loves animal as much as me also adores fur coats and almost raw steaks!

I wear fur because I like it and because it reminds me of and makes me feel close to my mother; she died 15 years ago and her fur coat is one of the things that most reminds me of her.

I loathe faux fur, I find it revolting and far more sluttish/aging than real fur. Really good fur is absolutely beautiful and no man made fabric will ever come close to replicating it.
In London on a cold winter's day, you can always spot the French and Italian female tourists as they're the ones wearing the most beautiful fur coats.

I'd not buy a new fur coat mostly because I don't have that kind of money - good fur is expensive and thankfully, I can happily wear my mother's fur coats when it get bitterly cold; they were a godsend last winter. (Most of my friends had no idea I was wearing real fur either)

For some reason I'm not a fan of leather coats/jackets mostly because really good leather is out of my price range and I think a lot of the ones on the high street look cheap and shoddy. I don't buy cheap leather shoes either, mostly because they're made of split skin and it's horrible.
The meat I buy/eat is all organic, heck, I don't buy large eggs because they hurt the hens who lay them, so by rights, I should probably be in the anti-fur camp but I'm not and the more people tell me it's wrong, the more I'll want to wear it.

I'd really like to say it's all down to personal choice but I have no doubt that someone will ask me about the poor bunnies' personal choice.. And yes, that will be when I start to roll my eyes.

oh dear - I'm off. Clearly didn't have time to day at work to wade through 9 pages. Sorry.

To everyone who thinks it's their right to wear fur please please please watch footage of beautiful animals being skinned alive and then come back on this thread justifying yourselves.
Personally think you're disgusting.

I know its wrong but its sooo lovely..... Reindeer pelt's ok isn't it? The Suami in Finland use Reindeer for meat and so the fur is a by product.

I've just been googling around the subject of rabbit farming, and it seems that there are regions and breeds where rabbits are used for both meat and fur.

This document here makes interesting reading, it suggests the orylag breed is not the only one now which is used for both, as demand for skins is increasing to the point that meat farmers are having the pelts processed.

I recall my rabbit breeding SIL said the only reason they didn't keep their rabbit pelts was because of the complicated logistics involved in having them processed. FWIW she breeds rabbits for her own consumption, her family try to do subsistence living. They typically have eight rabbits or so on the go at any time, and pigs, chickens etc.

i really like fur things and i really like meat too.
i don't have a problem with it being a by product at least nothing is wasted then

I'm not in the position to find out if I would buy (or wear) real fur if I could... So, I cannot really, in all honesty, say that I do not agree with wearing fur.

This not withstanding, I think I am in more active opposition of those people who acquire fur as a sign of their wealth, than I am of the coats themselves.

YABU purely on the basis that they look terrible. Not for any ethical reason, they just look....bad.

The only time I see people wearing them is when I go to Evian on holiday where every self-respecting 50+ year-old lady wears one, coupled with blingy Dior sunglasses. Yuk.

Angora rabbits are shorn just like sheep. The fur makes beautiful coats and jumpers

Animal lovers, or anyone who doesn't want their fur coat can donate it to a charity which distributes them to the (desperately cold)needy.

When I've got 5 mins, I'll see if I can find it, if anyone is interested

Warmth - unless you live in Siberia, how much warmer do you need to be than a fake coat give you [hhmm]
Fake fur otherwise better all round - would hate a mouldering thing in my wardrobe - had a rabbit hat I bought once in Moscow but made me itch - and kept thinking about what mught be living in it [hgrin]
I have the loveliest fake fur coat, hardly ever wear it because it is too hot [hgrin] but also, looks so realistic I imagine I might be attacked in it...

Warmth - I think anywhere close to the Arctic Circle rather than just Siberia.

i'm sure thsi will sound a bit duh after all the informed and reasoned argument, but the way i see it, perhaps wrongly, is that cows / sheep / chickens are domesticated, they've been bred to be the way they are to be used by man for our own needs for centuries. fur, seems to be, and again i might be wrong, to come from animals that are essentially still wild and undomesticated, ok rabbits are kind of domesticated, but they're not biddable like a cow, they still retain an essential wildness. i feel the same about reptile skins. i may be irrational and simple, but that's why fur seems worng to me.

i don't have a problem with vintage fur coats - you can pick up a vintage fur at very reasonable prices - if they're not used it seems like a waste of a perfectly good coat to me. That said i'm not sure i'd be brave enough to wear a full on coat but definately a collar or stole.
i'd not wear a new fur though.

Granny had a fox fur stole one - complete with eyes and teeth and tail. Vile thing.

I personally wouldn't wear one but, I would defend anyone elses right to wear what they want. My Mum had a short mink jacket, they only thing of any value my Father gave to her and she said that wearing it always made her better about herself. The animals have already been skinned and the clothing made, it's not like people go in and have them killed to order.

I am glad my fur does not have eyes. Wearing it would be like eating steak that could answer back.

I had a rabbit fur until someone slashed it (I am sure that is what happened). TBH it wasn't worth the hassle - people think you are a murderer even if you aren't and I also got filthy looks in the street.

I get fed up of people being dictatorial as to what should be or shouldn't be worn and a lot of the people doing the dictating are hypocrits because they eat meat and wear leather.

I don't care about the ethics, I just think they look a bit 'Rula Lenska in bad 70's movie' v.naff.

do you know a lot of the time they skin the animals ALIVE?
who cares if it keeps you nice and toasty though eh?

Yup, it's cruel, like Halal.

I have a vintage fur, I wear it quite a bit in the winter, and have never had any grief. Perhaps people assume it's fake.