Fur Trade
Whether it came from an animal on a fur
farm or one who was trapped in the wild, every fur coat, trinket, and bit of
trim caused an animal tremendous suffering—and took away a life.
Animals on fur farms spend their entire
lives confined to cramped, filthy wire cages. Fur farmers use the cheapest and
cruelest killing methods available, including suffocation, electrocution, gas,
and poison.
More than half the fur in the U.S. comes
from China, where millions of dogs and cats are bludgeoned, hanged, bled to
death, and often skinned alive for their fur. Chinese fur is often deliberately
mislabeled, so if you wear any fur, there’s no way of knowing for sure whose
skin you’re in.
Animals who are trapped in the wild can
suffer for days from blood loss, shock, dehydration, frostbite, gangrene, and
attacks by predators. They may be caught in steel-jaw traps that slam down on
their legs, often cutting to the bone; Conibear traps, which crush their necks
with 90 pounds of pressure per square inch; or water-set traps, which leave
beavers, muskrats, and other animals struggling for more than nine agonizing
minutes before drowning.
During the annual Canadian seal slaughter,
tens of thousands of baby harp seals are shot or repeatedly bludgeoned with
clubs tipped with metal hooks. Also in Canada, hundreds of black bears are shot
at point-blank range or caught in traps and left to suffer for days so that
their skins can be used to make the ceremonial hats worn by Queen Elizabeth
II’s Five Guards’ Regiments.
Luckily, there is no need to be cruel to
stay warm and look cool. Cruelty-free fabrics and faux furs are available in
stores everywhere, and PETA continues to work with designers and clothing
retailers to encourage them to use and sell only animal-friendly fabrics.
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