You
wake up in a filthy, cramped metal cage, surrounded by dozens of others who are
all as confused and scared as you are. You don’t know why you’re there, but
others around you keep disappearing.You don’t know where they’re going, but
their agonized cries tell you their destination is a place of death and
suffering.
One
day, someone grabs you from your suffocating prison and takes you against your
will. You know you’re about to experience the same horrors as the others who
have been taken. The air stinks of blood. You are hung from your feet, and
before you can scream in protest, you feel the searing pain of a knife cutting
into you…
If
this disturbs you, be aware that this is the fate of thousands of animals
globally, who are often skinned alive for their fur.Eighty-five percent of the
fur industry's skins come from animals on fur factory farms.We must ask
ourselves: why are animals subjected to such inhumane treatment, and what can
we do to put an end to such cruelty?
While
it is true that humans have been wearing animal fur for millennia, what is
unprecedented is the severe abuse that animals experience solely for economic
and materialistic indulgence. In early human civilization, animal fur was used
for sheer survival and necessity, but this is clearly no longer the case today.
As human technology has progressed and created a diverse range of clothing
options available, there is no reason to wear animal fur other than for
conspicuous consumption and monetary gain. In a capitalist and competitive
global market, fur farming methods are designed to benefit only the bottom
line. In the end, innocent animals pay the ultimate price.The true bottom line
is that fur-farming is a shamefully inhumane practice, and it is our
responsibility to put an end to this cruelty.
What
kinds of animals are killed in fur farms?
According
to Born Free USA, more than 36 million animals die on fur farms around the
world each year. Thirty-one million (or about 90 percent) of these animals are
mink. Foxes account for another 4.5 million, while chinchillas, sable, ferret
(usually marketed as “fitch”), coypus (an aquatic mammal also known as
“nutria”), and raccoon dogs (not to be confused with the North American
raccoon), account for most of the remaining half-million animals. Due to the
recent drop in pelt prices for mink and fox, some of U.S. fur farms have
attempted to ‘diversify’ by raising bobcat, coyote, raccoon, and beavers, along
with coypus and rabbits — all in equally abhorrent conditions.
What
happens in fur farms?
When
they see the term “farmed fur,” many people conjure images of a lush farm where
animals are treated humanely, but the harsh reality is that this couldn't be
further from the truth. Although animal rights advocates have done a phenomenal
job of raising awareness about the cruelties involved in fur trapping, little
attention has been paid to the atrocities that take place on fur farms,
sometimes also referred to euphemistically as “fur ranches.” A recent study
conducted for the International Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies
indicated that most respondents objected to trapping animals to make fur
products and voiced a preference for furs from fur farms (Born Free USA). It is
now time for the public to realize that fur farms are just as cruel as trapping.
Animals
in fur farms often spend their entire lives in tiny cages that are stacked on
top of each other, with feces and urine falling down through the cages into
their food and water. They have nothing to stand on but cold, hard, wire mesh.
In many cases, animals must share cages with each other in a single cage that
does not allow for full movement.
Often times, animals are left with no
protection from the elements.As a result, studies have shown that up to 85
percent of these confined animals develop behavioral abnormalities, such as
rocking, head-bobbing, self-mutilation, psychosis, and infanticide due to
anxiety, boredom, and an inability to live in a way that meets their
instinctual needs.
As
cruel as life on a fur farm is, the methods of killing used in these factories
of death are horrifying to say the least. On U.S. and European fur farms, one
of the most frequently used methods of killing animals is electrocution: the
“farmer” puts a metal clamp in an animal’s mouth, a metal rod in the anus, and
sends a high-voltage current surging through the body. Sometimes the power
surge forces the rod out of the anus, so the procedure must be repeated to kill
the animal. Other commonly-employed techniques include: homemade gas chambers,
such as a box hooked up to a tractor exhaust pipe; lethal injection of various
chemicals that kill through paralysis, which can result in immobilized animals
being skinned alive; and neck breaking (Born Free USA).
China
is the world’s largest fur exporter, and its fur farms have demonstrated some
of the most harrowing abuses of animal rights to date. Before they are skinned,
humans yank the animals from their cages, throw them to the ground, and
bludgeon them. Undercover investigators from Swiss Animal Protection/EAST
International found that many animals are still alive and struggling
desperately when workers flip them onto their backs or hang them up by their
legs or tails to skin them. Some of the animals' hearts are still beating five
to 10 minutes after they are skinned. Due to the absence of regulations, many
animal furs (including cat and dog) are advertised as different animals. There
are currently no penalties for abusing animals on fur farms in China.
Fur
farming, like any other industry, depends on the basic economic process of
supply and demand. Consequently, the best way to stop fur farming is to ensure
that you do not buy any fur products – including any products using fur trim –
and take extra precaution even when buying faux fur. Because there are very few
countries that have regulations or laws against fur farming, we must pressure
our governments to end this cruelty for the sake of fashion, economic greed,
and status. International laws are diverse in strength, but a few countries have
strictly regulated or completely banned fur farms (Austria, the United Kingdom,
and Croatia have bans, the Netherlands has a ban on fox and chinchilla farming,
and New Zealand, Sweden, and Switzerland have strict regulations).
No
federal laws regulate how the animals on the nearly 400 fur farms in operation
in the U.S. are to be housed, cared for, or killed. However, recently, West
Hollywood, California became the first city to ban the sale of wearable fur in
the form of any article of clothing. Let us follow in their footsteps and put
pressure on our government leaders to set a global example. It is clear that no
living creature deserves to be treated this way, and if we are to make any
strides as a compassionate society, we must abolish fur farming.
