Yes, that’s true, and a lot of people don’t protest against practical fur items like hats and fur-lined coats that are worn as an insulator. Most of the time fur is targeted with red paint, it is the fashion fur coats that get it. I think there is also an element of class warfare to this distinction, fur is really expensive and an obvious signal of high class status. (I have little problem with practical uses of fur myself, even if there are materials just as good that can be substituted.)
And yep, more or less the entire cow is used, including the hooves and eyeballs. Very economical.
I’ve heard that a few times in motorcycling circles. There’s some truth to it, if someone threw red paint on my riding jacket then somebody is going to get hurt (and it ain’t going to be me). For some reason they never pick on the guy in the armored leather jacket and gloves with kevlar knuckle guards. Leather is preferred for motorcycling gear because no textile matches the abrasion resistance of motorcycle-grade leather. Leather is good for 80-100 feet of sliding on pavement before wearing through. The best textiles are good for 70-80 feet, while denim wears through in about 5 ft.
BTW, I think this question is too emotionally charged to get an unbiased answer.
Yes thay do, and who knows how many countless thousands of naugas have given their lives for the sake of fake leather coats and Lay-Z-Boys. Won’t anyone think of the naugas?
I’m not going to claim I know a lot about rabbit fur farms. However, I do know a lot about rabbits. I kept rabbits as house pets for many years. Years ago there were not many books about rabbits as pets. Most of the books were written for commercial breeders. Consequently, I have read a lot about this though it was a topic that appalled me. (How would you feel reading a book that discussed the slaughter of the dog warming your feet? I’m also not fond of flipping through a cookbook and see a recipe for bunny in it.)
In general, bunnies (excluding rabbits shot in the wild) slaughtered for food are done so when they are quite young, usually not too long after they are weaned. Maybe it’s because the meat is more tender. Maybe it’s because that’s a good portion size. Fur bunnies are older when killed since they would be larger and you get a bigger pelt. I don’t know what happens to the rest of the remains, probably it’s the same thing that happens to mink or chinchilla remains.
And you can just guess what my opinion is of using these wonderful, affectionate creatures as food or clothing.
I’m not going to claim I know a lot about rabbit fur farms. However, I do know a lot about rabbits. I kept rabbits as house pets for many years. Years ago there were not many books about rabbits as pets. Most of the books were written for commercial breeders. Consequently, I have read a lot about this though it was a topic that appalled me. (How would you feel reading a book that discussed the slaughter of the dog warming your feet? I’m also not fond of flipping through a cookbook and see a recipe for bunny in it.)
In general, bunnies (excluding rabbits shot in the wild) slaughtered for food are done so when they are quite young, usually not too long after they are weaned. Maybe it’s because the meat is more tender. Maybe it’s because that’s a good portion size. Fur bunnies are older when killed since they would be larger and you get a bigger pelt. I don’t know what happens to the rest of the remains, probably it’s the same thing that happens to mink or chinchilla remains.
And you can just guess what my opinion is of using these wonderful, affectionate creatures as food or clothing.
The only method of euthanasia approved for mink by the Fur Commission USA, representing 420 mink farmers, is bottled gas, either pure carbon monoxide or carbon dioxide.
Is there some reason we don’t wear cat fur coats? I’m just asking. They look pretty warm. And some of them would make very pretty coats (spotted cat on my desk, I’m looking at you).
Some farmers sell them as crab bait, or give them to wildlife preserves, zoos or aquariums. Others will use them to make organic compost. Or they may be rendered down to provide raw materials for a wide range of products, from pet food and organic fertilizers to tires, paint and even cosmetics. Just as with hogs and cattle, nothing goes to waste.
I saw a news report about a woman who would knit sweaters or other clothing from pet hair you sent her. The items supposedly stank, though you’d think they wouldn’t after you washed it.
And sorry about posting that one item twice. The system froze when I was posting it the first time and I didn’t think it went through. Next time I’ll check. Maybe a moderator can remove one of them.
I first remember reading it in an essay by some science fiction writer many years ago. It sounds like something Larry Niven or Spider Robinson or Jerry Pournelle might have said.
A friend of mine who did fieldwork in Bulgaria tells me that he saw cat fur coats for sale there in the mid-1980’s. He said that people there tended not to think of cats - at least not feral cats - as potential pets, but instead regarded them more as vermin or nuisance animals.
Apparently the fur doesn’t stand up to use very well (think about how readily cats shed) and the coats look nasty very quickly.
In my opinion it is probably the combination of fur wearers being a smaller group and less likely to be big nasty bikers and a bit of class warfare (envy).
Let me reiterate that I am not trying to turn this into a debate at all – merely bringing to attention a fact that is easy to overlook in a long discussion like this…
There are people who are opposed (philosophically) to fur AND leather, and are generally vegetarian or vegan.
That doesn’t invalidate the initial question, about people who are NOT opposed to both. I merely metnion it because a lot of folks I’ve met take cracks at all vegans for their “hypocrisy” in only saving cute animals, or wearing leather. Just because some do does not mean that all do, and certainly doesn’t make all of them hypocrites.
We now return you to your previously scheduled thread.
