Animal Emotions

Do animals think and feel?

by Marc Bekoff

Victims of vanity: Wearing animals is donning pain and suffering

The fur industry is guilty of untold torture and tries to hide it

Published on March 10, 2011 by Marc Bekoff, Ph.D. in Animal Emotions

While on the one hand I apologize for the horrific nature of this posting, on the other hand it's essential to get the truth out about the horrors of the fur industry. Born Free has recently released a report on the unbelievable cruelty of fur trapping in the United States and it clearly shows just how horrible and terrifying it can be for the animals involved, way beyond most people's imagination. Countless sentient beings are treated brutally and killed using methods ranging from leghold trapping to snaring to chest crushing, suffocating, and drowning. There are very few regulations governing fur trapping and these are routinely violated with little or no oversight. There also is enormous "collateral damage" because non-target animals are routinely killed. All the gory details are available at this website and state-by-state details are available here.

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It's important to remember, that when someone chooses to wear animals, and it is a choice, it's a matter of who they're wearing, not what they're wearing. They've chosen to wear an animal who has died unnecessarily for vanity or warmth. And, they don't have to do it.

It's easy to find durable and affordable non-animal alternatives so it's really simple to remove untold cruelty from the world with little or no effort. Thank you for doing this. I'm sure the animals would thank you if they could. I deeply apologize for ruining your day but please keep in mind that cruelty can't stand the spotlight and each of us can easily make a positive difference in the lives of numerous animals.

Photo courtesy of Born Free.