AIBU to want to say I can't wear this gift ?

[lcl]

I've just been bought some beautiful girls by some friends but I now realise they really don't know I would never ever wear real fur. I'm so anti it and find it so unnecessary as there's plenty of great faux fur around. The gift is a Pom Pom hat and I knew when I opened it ,it was real. I checked and the company only does real fur 😫. The thing is fur is not a a food not a by product and the way these animals are kept and skinned alive is truly horrific. The problem is I don't want to offend my friends but I really can't abide wearing this hat and resent the company getting a sale for me. How should I handle this diplomatically? Ps they'll notice me not wearing it.

I'm afraid it's absolutely true that many animals are skinned alive for their fur.

I truly believe that nobody who knows what actually goes on in fur farms, including wild-caught leg-hold trapped animals, would NEVER wear fur (new or second hand). It represents the height of cruelty.

Please do some research on PETA, charming bunch of people that removed a dog from its home while the owners were out and put it to sleep, along with many other charming incidents. They're fucking bonkers.

I'm amazed at the mainstream nature of the pom pom fur. It's just weird.

I think if you are NOT vegan you cannot complain.

Is it the Burberry hat?

You may have that opinion, cathyclown - but it doesn't make it reasonable or logical.

People can eat meat (I don't, but people can) and still object to fur. Fur is worn, it is decorative, unnecessary, cruel - meat may not be necessary to survive these days, but is historically part of a human's diet - and doesn't involve skinning animals alive.

I had this last Xmas. DP mum got me suede gloves (despite DP being with her at the time). I just explained and asked for receipt to exchange for other non-animal ones. No probs, no one was offended and I have gloves I can wear now. Your friends should understand and would want you to have gift you will actually enjoy wearing

You may have that opinion, cathyclown - but it doesn't make it reasonable or logical

It IS reasonable and logical. Like I said, if you eat meat and wear leather the animals get dead just the same way as if you wear fur. The result of both is dead animals. You're just deciding that some dead animals is fine and some are not.
It's all nonsense.

Agree jo jo, animals don’t get skinned alive i wondered why that was in the op post! I totally disagree with real fur and would never wear it!

Of course it's not reasonable - you can eat meat, but object to cruelly killing an animal for sport or fur. And yes they are skinned alive.

I don't believe they'll notice you not wearing it and you seem quite dramatic about it.
They aren't the hat police and I'm sure you have more than one hat.
Put it away or dispose of it and think no more of it if you can't bear to tell them.

Of course it's not reasonable - you can eat meat, but object to cruelly killing an animal for sport or fur

You can. but the animal is killed either way. It doesn't care whether you eat it or wear it. It's no crueller to kill an animal to wear than it is to eat it. Dead is dead. The distinctions are about your feelings, not the animals. It's hypocrisy.

Dead is not just dead - there is the regulated meat industry, and then there is the fur trade - where animals are treated with appalling cruelty. You can accept the former without accepting the latter. Surely you can see that?

I'm hiding this now - because I've seen how these threads go before - 10 pages of argument and people justifying the cruelty of the fur trade just so they can have a fur bobble on their fucking hat.

Cut the Pom Pom off and (label so it's not advertised) replace with faux fur? Explain only if they notice. This way the gift is not completely wasted.

You could even post the bobble back to the company explaining what you've done and why.

Dead is not just dead - there is the regulated meat industry, and then there is the fur trade - where animals are treated with appalling cruelty. You can accept the former without accepting the latter. Surely you can see that?

You're still looking at it from your perspective. To the animal, dead is dead.

Also you are comparing apples and oranges. Your UK/Western regulated meat industry with Asian fur farms. How about Asian meat industry compared to Asian fur farms? Or western/western?

I don't wear fur, I have no skin in this fight. The posturing hypocrisy pisses me off though.

Leather isn’t a by product of the meat industry that’s a myth. Many cows are skinned alive in poor countries to provide leather.
Most of it is produced in India then sent to be treated in Italy to allow it to be called “Italian leather”.

@fantasmasgoria1 if you can stomach it there is plenty of videos showing the inside of Chinese fur factories. I wish I had never seen any but I was reading an article and clicked on the link at the bottom. but the animals are very much skinned alive, cats and dogs included.

Iam of the opinion that if the faux fur industry is booming and continues to create fantastic copies of fur then it only serves to put the furriers out of pocket

I dislike fake fur because it perpetrates the idea that fur equals comfort/luxury/fashion

Personally, I don't think we should wear faux fur either. It's absolutely horrific for the environment.

Microfibres shed into the water ecosystem poisoning them likes plastics do, and it produces so so much pollution (including the extraction and fractionating of petroleum). Not to mention the landfills and biodegrading.

Actually really nasty stuff.