Fur
Is fur natural and environmentally friendly? Find out!
Fur Farms
50 million animals are killed for fur worldwide every year, and approximately 74% of that fur comes from fur farms. In these fur farms, animals such as mink, rabbits, and even cats and dogs spend their entire lives confined to tiny, filthy cages, constantly pacing back and forth from stress and boredom. They exhibit stereotypical stress behaviour such as self-mutilation and cannibalism, demonstrating that intense confinement drives them insane. [1]
Let's look at the example of mink, the most common animals raised for fur. In the wild, mink are solitary animals that have a home range of up to 2,500 acres. Fur farms, however, contain anywhere from hundreds to hundreds of thousands of mink. Generally, these animals are housed in individual cages to keep them from killing each other – they are caged together only occasionally, with their own offspring, and then only until sexual maturity. Each cage is about the length of the mink's body – 1 foot by 3 feet. 
Additionally, they are semi-aquatic animals, and studies have shown that they suffer greatly when denied access to water in which to swim. [2]
When it comes time to kill these animals, fur farms utilize one of several methods of slaughter, all of which are approved by the Fur Council of Canada. Larger animals like foxes, bobcats, and lynx are often killed via anal or vaginal electrocution, wherein a clamp is attached to the animal's mouth and a rod is forced into its anus or vagina. Smaller animals like rabbits, mink, and chinchillas are sometimes put into boxes and poisoned with the use of unfiltered engine exhaust. This technique does not necessarily kill the animal, however, and it sometimes wakes up while being skinned.
Footage from a Chinese Fur Farm
Other methods of killing animals include lethal injection directly into the stomach with poisons such as chloral hydrate, magnesium sulphate, or nicotine sulphate, possibly in the forms of pesticide, as well as gassing, neck-breaking, or simply stunning the animal so that it won't struggle while being skinned. Methods of stunning are often as crude as simply slamming the animal into the ground repeatedly until it is too injured to fight back.[3]
80 percent of the world's fur, including that sold in countries like Canada and the United States, comes from China. Much has been made in recent years of a typical technique utilized in many Chinese fur farms; specifically, beating larger animals like dogs to the point that they are too weak to resist and then skinning them alive. Often they are simply swung by the hind legs so that their heads may be slammed against the ground. This is common practice. A bullet would damage otherwise sellable pelt, and electrocution and gassing are too expensive for many Chinese fur farms to afford. [4] 
Worried that you might be wearing a dog? You should be – workers in fur farms often label dog and cat pelts with "rabbit" or "raccoon" when exporting them to countries where they would not otherwise sell. [5] Two million cats and dogs are killed for fur each year in China, many of them stolen pets.[6]
If you have an inexpensive item with fur trim, don't assume it's fake – the price of dog, cat, and rabbit pelts ranges from just one to six dollars apiece.
Fur Trapping
When it comes to wild animals, fur trapping is enormously detrimental to a number of species, including our very own pets. [7],[8] About 5 million "non-target" animals are caught by steel jaw leghold traps every year, including pet dogs, cats, owls, eagles, and various endangered species. [9] (Read more on the endangered species – and other non-target animals – affected by trapping here.)
These leghold traps, which have been banned in more than 90 countries, are still legal in places like Canada, the U.S., Russia, and Australia. [10] Some of these them are even placed underwater, where they ultimately drown any animal – typically beavers, mink, or muskrats – unfortunate enough to be caught in one. The fur industry claims this is humane, despite the fact that it takes these animals ten or even twenty minutes to drown.
Other common traps are the body grip (or Conibear) trap and the snare trap. The snare trap is designed to strangle animals or crush vital organs. It becomes tighter as the animal struggles, and the industry has even come up with a term to describe the bloody lymph fluid that fills and surrounds the heads of any canines that are caught – they call it "jellyhead". Like any trap, it is indiscriminate as to what it catches.
Conibear traps, which consist of a pair of metal rectangles meant to snap together and kill the animal quickly, are no less cruel 
and generally crush animals to death over a period of days. Pet dogs and cats are often common victims of this particular type of trap.
Trappers often wait days to check their traps, which means that trapped animals – who are generally not killed outright – suffer enormously. Some attempt to chew off their limbs in an attempt to escape. When the trapper returns, he or she stomps on the chest or neck of the animal until it dies.
References
[1] Nimon A & Broom D, "The welfare of farmed mink ( Mustela vison ) in relation to housing and management: a review", Animal Welfare , 1999, vol 8 (205-228)
[2] Reuters, "What Captive Minks Miss Most – Swimming," 28 Feb. 2001
[3] The Humane Society of the United States
[4] The Humane Society of the United States, Dying for Fur
[5] Fur-Bearer Defenders, Dog and Cat Fur
[6] The Humane Society of the United States, Global Trade in Dog and Cat Fur
[7] Animal Protection Institute, Non-Target Animals & Humans Trapped by Body-Gripping Traps
[8] Animal Protection Institute, Trapping Incidents
[9] Global Action Network, Trapping and the Environment
[10] End Trap, What's Wrong With Leghold Traps?
Frequently Asked Questions
But it's cold where I live. What else am I supposed to wear?
Now that we've entered the 21st century, there are a myriad of alternatives to fur and it is simply not the warmest thing available. Fabrics such as Gore-Tex and Polypropylene, for example, are renowned for their ability to keep you warm even in arctic conditions!
For the look of fur without the cruelty, consider one of the many faux fur options available to the public from such vendors as Fabulous Furs or Coquette Faux Furriers here in Canada. Do a quick Google search and see what you can find!
But isn't fur less damaging to the environment than an artificially-created product?
Despite what the fur industry wants us to believe, it's far more damaging. A study done at the University of Michigan showed that creating a fur garment takes approximately 20 times the energy it would to make a fake fur garment of the same size. Even a fur coat made from a wild animal takes 3 times as much energy. [1],[2]
While an untanned (untreated) pelt is naturally biodegradable and therefore better for the environment, absolutely no untanned coats are sold. After all, who wants a coat that will quickly rot in their closet? The chemical treatments used to keep the fur from rotting are dangerous to the water supply. Some of these chemicals include sulphuric, formic and lactic acids, lead, cyanide, formaldehyde, hydrogen peroxide, ammonia, chromium salts, alum, sodium chlorite, copper sulphate and ferous sulphate.[3]
Highly elevated levels of these chemicals can be found in the areas around fur and leather tanneries. The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention discovered that the incidence of leukemia in residents near a Kentucky tannery were five times the national average.[4] Meanwhile, people working in fur or leather tanneries are even more susceptible to cancer; a study conducted by the New York State Department of Health determined that more than half of testicular cancer victims were also tannery employees.[5]
One must also consider the impact that fur-farmed animals have upon the environment. For example, 2.56 million mink were raised and killed specifically for their fur in the United States in 2004. Each mink produces approximately 44 pounds of feces during its lifetime, which adds up to tens of thousands of pounds annually. Additionally, mink feces contain phosphorus, and though the fur industry has sought ways to reduce the amount they excrete, U.S. waterways are still polluted with over 1000 tons annually. [6] In fact, in January of 1998 Sweden's largest fox farm was forced to close due to its role in the contamination of the local water supply.[7]
Fur gained through trapping brings up an entirely different environmental issue. An average of three non-target animals are trapped and thrown away for every target animal that is caught – and many of these are endangered species. A study conducted by the University of Minnesota Raptor and Research Rehabilitation program determined that 21% of Bald Eagle admissions involved leghold trap related injuries, and 64% of these admissions were fatal.[8] The rare Alberta Swift Fox, which was once thought to have been driven to extinction by hunting, now exists in small numbers despite decades-long attempts to reestablish their population. Despite the fact that it is now illegal to hunt them intentionally, Swift Foxes are still at risk as non-target victims of traps set for species such as red foxes and coyotes.[9]
BanCruelTraps.org keeps a list of news reports of non-target animals (and people) injured or killed in traps.
Some endangered animals are caught not only intentionally but legally. The Sierra Club of Canada has warned that the Red Wolf population – estimated at only 200 to a couple thousand individuals – is severely threatened by hunting and trapping and are disappearing at a rate of 5% annually. They predict that complete ban on hunting and trapping is necessary in the 37 townships surrounding Algonquin Park if the species is to survive, but no such ban (or even regulatory measure) exists.[10] Meanwhile, there exist only 300 Newfoundland Martens remaining because the species was decimated by once-legal trapping. [11]
It is significant to note that attempts to describe fur as "environmentally safe" in England, Denmark, Holland, Italy, and Finland were actually ruled false and misleading – and therefore illegal – by advertising standards committees. [12]
How can I tell the difference between real and fake fur?
Since tags and labels have been proven by the RSPCA and the HSUS to be deceptive (see the latest report on this matter here), you should not rely on these alone when attempting to determine the authenticity of a fur. There are a few easy ways, however, that you can tell the difference between fake and real fur without the benefit of a label.
1. Feel the fur. Real fur will feel soft and fine and will roll between your fingers smoothly. Fake fur tends to be coarser.
2. Push a pin through the base of the fur. If it is real, it will have a leather backing and therefore be hard to force a pin through. If it goes through easily, the fur is probably fake.
3. Pluck a couple of hairs from the coat and set them on fire. Real fur will singe like human hair and smell the same. Fake fur will melt and smell like burning plastic, and it will form into small balls at the end.
4. Blow on the fur so that it separates. If it is real, you will likely be able to see layers of soft, almost wooly fur through which longer hairs protrude. The backing will be leather. Fake fur is generally one simple layer of nearly identical hairs.
Think that just because a fur is cheap, it must be fake? Unfortunately, this is not the case. Rabbit pelts, for example, can be had for 1 to 6 dollars a piece. Fur is no longer exclusively a high-priced item.
How many animals does it take to make a coat?
But my coat just has a little trim...
Recently the fur industry has attempted to boost its sales by adding little bits of fur to coats and other clothing as purely ornamental trim. The fur may be dyed or mixed with other fabrics to give the impression that it is actually fake. [13] Don't fall for these tricks – it may be only a little fur, but it still represents the painful existence of the animal who died for it and may actually be a major part of the sales that fueled its death. For example, up to 90% of fox fur is used purely as "just a little trim", and analysts predict that soon, the number of animal pelts used for trim will actually outnumber those used for full coats! [14]
Are you against native people hunting fur animals to survive?
Nope.
But it is important to note that the role of native people in the Canadian fur industry is a very small one. According to the Canadian Fur Council, there exist in Canada 25,000 native trappers out of 60,000 trappers total. [15] In 2002, the total value of trapped fur was $23.6 million. Assuming that aboriginal fur sold for approximately the same price as non-aboriginal furs, that means that $9.9 million worth of aboriginal furs were sold that year, or only $396 per trapper in annual revenue.
In fact, the Standing Committee in Aboriginal Affairs states specifically that "trappers, native and non-native alike, trap by choice and not need."[16]
In comparison, the Canadian fur industry as a whole makes $800 million a year – therefore, aboriginal profits account for approximately 1 percent annually. Additionally, an overall aboriginal population of 1,319,890 means that less than 2 percent of native people are involved in fur trapping.[17],[18]
If you are interested in buying fur trapped by aboriginal people, you may find it difficult – the fur industry has consistently opposed initiatives to label native fur.[19]
"Today's fur industry professes to be the champion of Canada's Natives, selflessly watching over the welfare of a people whose future is uncertain. This is ironic considering that the fur industry has been the most destructive force in our history."
– Paul Hollingsworth, founder of the Native/Animal Brotherhood [20]
All the top designers use fur and it's an integral part of the fashion industry.
Actually, the fur industry is in decline and has been since the 1980's. Top designers and fashion moguls such as Tommy Hilfiger, J. Crew, Ann Taylor, Jacob, Roots, Burton, Janice Dickinson, Nicole Miller, and Ralph Lauren have all stopped using fur due to public pressure or personal ethics.
What about leather?
Leather is an entirely separate issue but no less important. To learn more about the leather industry, please visit Vegsource.com or Cowsarecool.com.
References
[1] Gregory H. Smith, "Energy Study of Real vs. Synthetic Furs," University of Michigan, Sep. 1979
[2] Animal Writes, "Environmental Ramifications of Fur" 20 January 1999
[3] WSPA, The Fur Inquiry, London (undated)
[4] Global Action Network, "Fur Farms and the Environment"
[5] ibid.
[6] S.J. Bursian et al., "The Use of Phytase as a Feed Supplement to Enhance Utilization and Reduce Excretion of Phosphorous in Mink," 2003 Fur Rancher Blue Book of Fur Farming (East Lansing: Michigan State University Department of Animal Science, 2003).
[7] ANZFAS Factsheet: The Fur Trade, May 1994
[8] Global Action Network, "Fur Farms and the Environment"
[9] Canadian Wildlife Federation, , 2007
[10] Sierra Club of Canada, News Release, 23 June 2001
[11] Parks Canada, Information Sheet: Newfoundland Marten, 20 June 2005
[12] Global Action Network,
[13] The Humane Society of the United States, Fur-Free Holidays – Without the Trimmings
[14] API4ANIMALS, The Cruelty of Fur Trim
[15] Statistics Canada Fur Statistics, 2004, vol.2, no.1
[16] Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade, Reasons for Trapping
[17] Statistics Canada Aboriginal Peoples of Canada: A Demographic Profile
[18] Global Action Network, "Fur Farms and the Environment"
[19] ibid.
[20] Hollingsworth, Paul, The Peace Newsletter, The Left and Environmental-First Nations Relationships, October 1990