About Me

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If who we are is what we do, then like most people, I am a mixed bag of personas. Writer, bookworm, friend, are what first come to mind. Equally apt would be potty mouth, dog walker, Guinness drinker, swimmer, storyteller, political animal, baker and proud Canadian. Mostly though, I consider myself simply insanely lucky to have a small posse of near and dear ones who put up with me and my curvy, creative, curly haired, opinionated self. I started this blog several years ago with the idea to challenge myself in a myriad of ways. Years in, despite the sporadic entries, I still like to muse about the absurdity of life, what inspires surprises and angers me, books and other entertainments, my menagerie, my travels and any other notion buzzing round in my head.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Let the fur fly


Fur is back and I’m mad as hell.

I get it. It's cold out. Really cold. Fingertip freezing, toe numbing, cold outside. But seriously, fur?

Lately in my comings and goings, I have noticed more people wearing fur hats and coats, fur lined gloves and jackets. Just this morning on my way to work, I saw two different women wearing fur coats on the subway. Shaking my head as I got off the train, there in line for coffee was another woman in a Davey Crocketesque hat, complete with the tail. Oblivious to the grotesque animal carcass she was sporting on her head, she took her time deciding between the blueberry muffin and the lemon danish.

What is going on in this world when we think that wearing fur is an acceptable fashion statement? Why are the lives of these animals, killed for garments, of less value than ours? Here are some things to consider:

Simply put, wearing fur is inhumane. There is no such thing as humane slaughter. Animals killed, for whatever the reason suffer excruciating pain in the same way a human being would in those same circumstances.

Think about it, if you were hung upside down, skinned alive, plucked or gutted, on a scale of 1 to 10, how much pain would you feel?

Did you know that to make a 40 inch fur coat it takes about:
200 chinchilla
20 foxes
40 raccoons
35 rabbits
16 coyotes
15 wolves
16 bobcats
8 seals

Trapping maims and kills. Animals caught in barbaric steel traps often suffer extreme blood loss, struggling to get free will gnaw off a limb, and are often killed by animal predators. Traps often accidentally trap unintended animals such as dogs, cats and birds.

The animal kingdom self regulates. The fur industry uses overpopulation as a justification to continue their insensate hunting, trapping and killing of animals. In reality, trapping often disrupts wildlife populations, killing healthy animals needed to keep the species strong and stranding babies who need to fend for themselves.

Fur farms mean pain and poison. The majority of fur produced comes from animals bred on fur farms. Like many other factory farms, these animals are kept in overcrowded conditions. Stress caused by the inhumane way in which the animals are caged causes them to self mutilate. Because these farmers are solely concerned about the quality of the pelts, the killing methods used include poison, genital electrocution and breaking the necks of these animals.

Would you wear the pelt of your dog? Despite what the fur industry says, in some countries fur from cats and dogs is used, and labeling is falsified so as not to offend its North American and European consumers. While the lives of our companion animals are no less precious than that of any other living being, if thinking of fur garments in this context helps to make wearing and buying fur less appealing, it’s something to consider.

Anti-fur and animal rights organizations ask you to think of it this way: every fur coat, lining, or piece of trim represents the intense suffering of animals, whether they were trapped, ranched, or even unborn. This cruelty will end only when the public refuses to buy or wear fur.

For more information, click www.peta.org/actioncenter/clothing.asp or http://www.furisdead.com/

“One day the absurdity of the almost universal human belief in the slavery of other animals will be palpable. We shall then have discovered our souls and become worthier of sharing this planet with them."

Martin Luther King, Jr.

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