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Q - My lifestyle is pretty casual. Why would I be interested in a fur coat?
A - Fur coats aren't just for special occasions. Today's fur fashions reflect tremendous variety in design and spirit. While full-length sables might fit some people's everyday needs, others might opt for a colorful sheared beaver bomber jacket, a fur-lined leather biker jacket or even a knee-length shearling fur duffel coat. Take a look around Fur Online's Web site for all the possibilities.
Q - Which furs are farm-raised and which come from the wild?
Q - Isn't it more humane to wear furs that are farm-raised? Mink and foxes have been raised on farms since the turn of the century. Scandinavian countries produce the bulk of the world's farmed fur animals. Farms in several other countries raise fox and mink, and the U.S. is recognized for producing the finest quality mink in the world. Mink and fox have been called the world's best cared-for domestic animals, because any mistreatment would show up immediately on their pelts, devaluing them. Mink farmers have adopted codes of humane care that include regular visits by veterinarians. Trapping furbearing animals is a wildlife conservation tool. In the U.S. and Canada, which produce the bulk of the international commercial fur trade's wild furs, the practice is exercised by government-licensed trappers and controlled by scientists. In Canada, indigenous humans living off the land still trap as part of their ancient heritage. Management of certain species will always be essential in a world where humans interact with wildlife habit. Shrinking habitat due to human expansion is the biggest threat to most wild animals today. In fact, while hunting and trapping might be considered to be a threat to wild animal species, hunters and trappers actually provide the money -- through licensing fees -- used by government agencies to analyze and maintain those populations. Living in finite habitats, wildlife populations left unmanaged frequently overpopulate. The results: they suffer starvation or become diseased (Mother Nature manages populations by spreading rabies, mange and other not-so-pretty afflictions); they infringe on human needs (damaging infrastructures, flooding roads, wandering into urban areas, sometimes dangerously coming into contact with small children); and even destroy their very own habitats (in Louisiana, overpopulated nutria are eating away valuable wetland areas). Therefore, man must intervene. Even when fur has no commercial value, trappers are sent to work, in some cases at taxpayer expense. Q - Does the fur trade use endangered species? Q - I'd like to sell an old leopard coat that I got in the 1960s. What's the best way to go about it? Q - Is shearling a fur? Q - How much money should I spend on a good fur coat?
Visit every fur salon you can find in your local area. Compare prices and ask questions about quality. The retail fur business is extremely competitive and can offer some excellent bargains. It also might not. If you think a deal is too good to be true, it probably is. The most general rule: get the best quality for your money, even if that means purchasing a better-quality less-expensive type of fur. For example, opt for an excellent-quality sheared beaver instead of just a fair-quality mink. This usually means you'll purchase better skins and workmanship, the most important building blocks for a fur coat. Still, a multitude of variables determine the value of a garment, including the quality of its pelts, craftsmanship, design, number of pelts used, its label, dressing and dying processes, and even the furrier's location (due to varying rents and other overhead). Q - I love fur but I also care about animals. Should I donate money to my local humane society? Animal rights groups like PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) and the Humane Society of the United States might have impressive-sounding names, but they have little interaction with animals. They do not run animal shelters. Their goal is to raise money so they can promote their extreme viewpoints and brainwash the public. They call it "education," as if they're the only people willing to tell the truth. The ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) has a long history of caring for pets but also fights against freedom of choice to wear fur. Always be aware that the true animal rights philosophy also wants to take away your right to own a pet. "Pet ownership is an absolutely abysmal situation brought on by human manipulation," said Ingrid Newkirk, founder of PETA. "...Eventually companion animals would be phased out, and we would return to a more symbiotic relationship, enjoyment at a distance." Q - Should I be comfortable wearing fur?
A - Fur garments and accessories are beautiful as well as practical. On a cold day, nothing is as warm, lightweight and fashionable as fur. Q - Is fur politically correct? Q - Should I be afraid to wear fur on the streets of New York City?
A - If animal rights fanatics have accomplished anything regarding the fur industr y, they have successfully infiltrated the American public's consciousness with an insidious propaganda. Through fear and intimidation, they coerced furs off the streets of New York by threatening to destroy valuable property. The truth is, occasions of paint being spattered on coats are more fiction than fact. Not one retailer in the entire New York area has reported cleaning a painted coat in the past seven years. Q - But wearing furs isn't popular anymore, is it? Q - Have fur sales been affected by the animal rights movement? Unadjusted for inflation, retail fur sales tripled during the previous ten years. In 1977, retail sales amounted to $612,500,000. They rose steadily until 1987, when they hit an unprecedented $1,800,000,000 ($1.8 billion). Therefore, the question of why fur sales dropped should logically correspond with the question of why they experienced such growth in the '80s. It's no secret that, during that time period, Americans experienced prosperity. And they celebrated it. Baby boomers became ideal fur consumers due to their their age, their growing confidence in the economy and their earning potential, plus their eagerness to spend money on luxury products. Also shooting fur sales through the roof in the '80s was the influx of women into the workforce with greater earning power. The "dress for success" winter uniform quickly became a conservative suit, high heels and a mink coat. This was reflected in a major shift in fur buying patterns. Instead of relying on the men in their lives to give them fur coats for anniversaries, birthdays or other special occasions, women were out buying for themselves. Companies like the Fur Vault also made mink coats affordable for women who wouldn't consider themselves traditionally wealthy fur consumers. As the '90s dawned, the Reagan era became viewed by some with disdain as the epitome of materialism. Baby boomers already had fur coats in their closets (remember that a good quality mink coat can be worn for many years if it receives proper care). Those who were still making as much money as they did in the '80s began redirecting their disposable income toward children and private schools, both of which became priorities above luxury products. Fur sales dropped accordingly. When viewed in a wider historical and sociological context, it becomes obvious that the drop in U.S. fur sales cannot be attributed in major portion to protests against fur. Remember attacks against fur during the late-60s/early-70s flower power era? Many of those young college protesters went on to be some of the fur industry's best customers during the '80s. The same trend could take place again. In 1992 and 1993, the sale of fur garments increased about 10% each year. In 1994, record warm temperatures devastated all outerwear sales. Actually, fur sales fared better than wool coat sales in '94, say retail analysts. Comprehensive results aren't in yet for the 1995 calendar year, but a sampling of several stores indicates the industry should experience more growth. |
The following are selected quotes by animal rights leaders expressing the often-hidden agenda of their movement. They were compiled by the American Animal Welfare Foundation, St. Paul, MN. -"Animal liberationists do not separate out the human animal, so there is no rational basis for saying that a human being has special rights. A rat is a pig is a dog is a boy. They're all mammals."
-"The life of an ant and the life of my child should be granted equal consideration." -"Humans have grown like cancer. We're the biggest blight on the face of the planet." -"I am not a morose person but I would rather not be here. I don't have any reverence for life, only for the entities themselves. I would rather see a blank space where I am. This will sound like fruitcake stuff again, but at least I wouldn't be harming anything." -"Probably everything we do is a publicity stunt...We are not here to gather members, to please, to placate, to make friends. We're here to hold the radical line."
-"Even if animal research resulted in a cure for AIDS, we'd be against it."
-"Even painless research is fascism, supremacism, because the act of confinement is traumatizing in itself."
-"It (animal research) is immoral even if it is essential."
-"Pet ownership is an absolutely abysmal situation brought on by human manipulation." -"One day we would like an end to pet shops and the breeding of animals. (Dogs) would pursue their natural lives in the wild...They would have full lives, not waiting at home for someone to come home in the evening and pet them and then sit there and watch TV." -"...Eventually companion animals would be phased out, and we would return to a more symbiotic relationship, enjoyment at a distance." -"We feel that animals have the same rights as a retarded human child." -"We have a lazy, sick society. People bring diseases on themselves. [People should] avoid getting the disease in the first place." -Question to PeTA Outreach Coordinator Susan Rich: "If you were aboard a lifeboat with a baby and a dog, and the boat capsized, which would you rescue?" -"In a perfect world, all other than human animals would be free of human interference, dogs and cats would part of the ecological scheme." -In response to Animal Liberation Front violence in the Pacific Northwest: "We cannot condemn the Animal Liberation Front...they act courageously, risking their freedom and their careers to stop the terror inflicted every day on animals in the labs. [ALF's activities] comprise an important part of today's animal protection movement." -"Homelessness drives me crazy! I take responsibility for everything that happens to me. Everyone can pull themselves up. I have more sympathy for animals because they don't deserve anything that happens to them. They're innocent." -"The life of an ant and the life of my child should be granted equal consideration." -"We're not superior. There are no clear distinctions between us and animals." -"Man is the most dangerous, destructive, selfish and unethical animal on earth." -(Expressing opposition to use of bug sprays) "Only a few of the million you kill would have bitten you." -"We have no ethical obligation to preserve the different breeds of livestock produced through selective breeding. ...One generation and out. We have no problem with the extinction of domestic animals. They are creations of human selective breeding." -"If we could shut down all sport hunting in a moment, we would." -"If abandoning animal research means that there are some things we cannot learn, then so be it... We have no basic right...not to be harmed by those natural diseases we are heir to." -"It is not larger, cleaner cages that justice demands...but empty cages; not traditional animal agriculture but a complete end to all commerce in the flesh of dead animals; not more humane hunting and trapping, but the total eradication of these barbarous practices." -When asked which he would save, a dog or a baby, if a boat capsized in the ocean: "If it were a retarded baby and a bright dog, I'd save the dog." -"Even granting that we [humans] face greater harm than laboratory animals presently endure if research on these animals is stopped, the animal rights view will not be satisfied with anything less than total abolition." |