Fur.

[BadlyDrawnSimpsonsCharacter]

"Inspired" by the culling of mink on fur farm in Denmark - AIBU to wonder why on earth, in this day and age, people are still purchasing fur?

There are enough videos and photos from fur farms that show how fur is acquired. I will not go into this as it is very, very disturbing.

If you are a fur wearer, can I ask why you choose to wear it, considering the torture the animal has no doubt endured to provide the fur?

For clarity I am not a PETA member/animal rights activist looking for an argument (although I do have strong views on animal cruelty, like the majority of people do).

I am genuinely interested in other people's views on this.

I've got a Russian fur hat that my granny had when they went to Moscow. I've not had the heart to throw it out because there's a family back story behind it but I couldn't wear it. Poor animals. Back in the 50s in cold Russia I can see why it was a thing but there are far more easy ways of making warm clothing now.

Presumably you are a vegetarian who never wears leather or farmed fish?
Is wearing fish a thing???

Well it is, I had no idea!

@AlwaysLatte

I've got a Russian fur hat that my granny had when they went to Moscow. I've not had the heart to throw it out because there's a family back story behind it but I couldn't wear it. Poor animals. Back in the 50s in cold Russia I can see why it was a thing but there are far more easy ways of making warm clothing now.

Not really and at a high environmental cost

@AlwaysLatte

Well it is, I had no idea!

Yep. Wraring and farming fish is definitely a thing

@HalfTermHalfTerm admittedly not my most gracious moment but I think this person had banked on me being cowed or shamed. I wasn't. I didn't kick off as such either, I simply showed her that judgement goes both ways and walked off. I refuse to give in to it and had nothing to be ashamed of. And, childish as it is, she started it. There's no law saying this woman couldn't call me out but I was also well within my right to reply and I did. I think it's best not to be intimidated or show weakness. I know I might be challenged on my fashion choices.

If it came down to it though, I'd never put my safety over an item of clothing. There are places I wouldn't wear my furs and I'd take sonething off or give it up if my safety was on the line. It would be a waste IMO but it's all relative.

@SchrodingersImmigrant

It would be nice to return to the old style of using everything. For example, we kill cows for food, so we should use the skins, have supermarkets selling bags of bones for stock (bloody pain in the arse to get some!). You know. Respect the source by using everything in a valuable way. I would stop farming only for 1 purpose, absolutely.

I would agree with this. I haven't eaten meat since I was a child and pretty much the only dairy I have is milk in tea or coffee. I have no goal to convert other people to vegetarianism but, sooner or later, we are going to have to vastly reduce the amount of meat we consume in the Western world whichever way it is farmed, it isn't sustainable.

Is it any worse than eating meat?

Yes. Eating meat is brilliant.

They skin them while they are still ALIVE??? Fucking hell, that is horrific.
Yes (probably not in every case but for the vast majority).

Why would anyone believe this? Surely 10s thought would indicate it's a silly suggestion? Why would anone want the buggers to wriggle when you have a sharp knife?

We were told as kids to nkt name the animals bread for food.

Why would you name bread?

@donquixotedelamancha

We were told as kids to nkt name the animals bread for food.

Why would you name bread?

Ooops🙈 Mr Crusty 😂

@donquixotedelamancha if you don't believe that some of these poor creatures are skinned alive, please may I direct you to the PETA website. Or even if you Google it, I'm sure you'll get some interesting results.
But sadly yes, some animals on fur farms are indeed skinned alive. Perhaps not in EU or American farms but certainly in parts of Asia. I wish I was making this up but I'm not.

if you don't believe that some of these poor creatures are skinned alive, please may I direct you to the PETA website.

That was what prompted me to be surprised anyone fell for it. Why would the fur industry choose to do the majority of skinning on a wriggly animal rather than a dead one?

The people who need what? I don’t think there are very many people in the world who need fur?

@donquixotedelamancha

if you don't believe that some of these poor creatures are skinned alive, please may I direct you to the PETA website.

That was what prompted me to be surprised anyone fell for it. Why would the fur industry choose to do the majority of skinning on a wriggly animal rather than a dead one?

Better quality fur from a live animal, apparently 🤷‍♀️

However, sorry for the imagery but...the animals do not squirm. They freeze in fear.

TBH unless you're vegan you're a hypocrite if you oppose wearing fur but tick into a roast beef dinner or have milk in your tea. Dairy farming practices are barbaric. Why is gluttony an ok reason to kill but not vanity?

@GlummyMcGlummerson true. I often have these conversations with vegetarian and vegan friends.

For me, the fur and exotic skins industry is far more barbaric. And the fact that "luxury" fashion/ivory trade is one of the reasons some beautiful animals are nearing extinction.

It is just a cause I am passionate about, and was curious for others' views. Perhaps I should get myself more educated on the plight of dairy animals. FWIW I try to shop as ethically as I can.

I don't want to sound rude but if someone is passionate about something they would learn about it. Not just watched few youtube videos with the worst of it.

This is why people often just stop listening to others about some causes.

@SchrodingersImmigrant

I don't want to sound rude but if someone is passionate about something they would learn about it. Not just watched few youtube videos with the worst of it.

This is why people often just stop listening to others about some causes.

Understood, and I agree. Always willing to learn more.

For the most part, what interests me about fur isn't the issue of if it should be worn or by whom. In my lifetime, this is the first instance I was aware of, when people changed their behaviour not just because of their ethics but (also) because they were afraid not to.

When I first moved to Glasgow in about 1990, there was still a little fur shop on Sauchiehall Street (it was almost directly opposite my bedroom window, which is how I came to be spending quite a bit of time looking at it). It seemed to have quite a few potential customers, but there always seemed to be a group of protesters outside, who were quite aggressive. Very few customers got through and before long the shop closed. I remember reports of people having paint thrown over them, being verbally and sometimes physically abused and there being a general feeling that wearing fur was just not a safe thing to do. I don't dismiss the general shift in attitudes towards the wearing of fur for reasons of animal welfare, but it would have been a brave person who felt they could openly defend their fur-wearing at that time.

It seems to me that the roots of today's "cancel culture" can be traced back to the anti-fur campaigns of my youth. I think precedents were set which shouldn't have been and that has made for a less free and less fair society.

@DontDribbleOnTheCarpet it's an interesting point.

I live in London and every time I've walked down Regent Street there have always, always been protests outside Canada Goose. I've never been in to the shop myself but the protesters crowd around the doors and shout at people going in and out. Sometimes the shouting verges on abusive.

Obviously they are very different issues, but it reminds me of the extreme right wing / religious activists impeding access to abortion clinics and trying to shame those who go in.

Regardless of your position on whether fur is cruel or unethical or not, I don't think intimidating behaviour is the way to go to get people to change their minds.

There's a spectrum in animal welfare from trying to embrace a totally cruel free life- avoiding dairy and honey and leather to boiling dogs alive to make soup, fox hunting and killing rhinos for their horns.

Its not hypocritical to feel uneasy about fur farming and still eat meat. I was shocked that the market for mink coats is so big that Denmark alone have 17 million to cull. Or that Norway farms foxes.

@ComtesseDeSpair

I like it. I don’t particularly like animals. And as a previous poster said, I’m vain, selfish and a cunt.

That aside, I’m not sure why fur receives so much more condemnation than leather, particularly when the practices of obtaining cheap leather are arguably more horrific than that of fur.

Thanks for making me laugh Comtesse.

@Hobbesmanc

There's a spectrum in animal welfare from trying to embrace a totally cruel free life- avoiding dairy and honey and leather to boiling dogs alive to make soup, fox hunting and killing rhinos for their horns.

Its not hypocritical to feel uneasy about fur farming and still eat meat. I was shocked that the market for mink coats is so big that Denmark alone have 17 million to cull. Or that Norway farms foxes.

Couldn't have worded it better myself really.

I try and shop ethically (I buy UK-reared and slaughtered meat, free range organic eggs and milk) but my issue is the massively unnecessary suffering of animals to make a coat.

I think I'd be more accepting if the animals were reared in good conditions, plenty of fresh air and bedding etc, then killed humanely (although you could argue that no form of killing can be deemed humane).

The amount of animal abuse at these farms that is caught on camera is appalling. What goes on behind closed doors?

please may I direct you to the PETA website
🤣
You very much need to do a little more research into PETA...
Their euthanasia rate in their shelters in America are sky high.
They believe animals shouldn’t be pets full stop.
In the UK they came under fire for advocating for the euthanasia of Staffordshire bull terriers and suggesting no more be bred.
There are rumours that those horrific live skinning videos were faked, by none other than PETA