Statistics Each year the fur industry kills over 50 million animals
for fashion, not including rabbits (no reliable data on rabbits killed
worldwide for fur is available).
Number of Animals to Make a Fur Coat: 12-15 lynx 10-15 wolves
or coyotes 15-20 foxes 60-80 minks 27-30 racoons 10-12
beavers 60-100 squirrels
Fur Factory Farms More than 45 million animals worldwide,
including raccoon dogs, rabbits, foxes, mink, and chinchillas, are raised
in cages and killed each year for their fur. Not only are cage-raised
animals killed inhumanely, but they suffer from numerous physical and
behavioral abnormalities induced by the stress of caging conditions. After
spending their short lives in squalid conditions, animals raised on fur
farms are killed by cruel methods that preserve the pelt, such as gassing,
neck-breaking and anal electrocution.
Further information: Caged Fur: The Inside Story Respect for
Animals: Fur Factory Farming
Trapping Millions of wild
animals, including bobcats, coyotes, foxes, lynx, raccoons, and wolves,
suffer and die in traps each year. Countless dogs and cats, deer, birds
and other animals—including threatened and endangered animals—are also
injured and killed each year by the indiscriminate traps. Traps, including
steel-jaw leghold traps, body-gripping traps, and wire neck snares, are
inhumane devices that inflict great pain and suffering. Both the American
Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and the American Animal Hospital
Association have declared the steel-jaw leghold trap to be inhumane.
Further Information: Trapping: The Inside Story www.bancrueltraps.com Get The
Facts - The Truth About Trapping Fact Sheet: Trapping on National
Wildlife Refuges
Even companion animals like dogs and cats are at risk of severe injury
and death in traps and snares. A sampling of HSUS case history reports
reveals just how traumatic the experience can be, both for pets and their
owners. [more]
Cat and Dog Fur A 1998 investigation by
The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) exposed the international
fur industry's ugly secret: the widespread slaughter of companion
animals—domestic dogs and cats—for the manufacture of clothing,
accessories, and trinkets. Investigators witnessed firsthand the brutal
slaughter of domestic dogs and cats in China and other Asian nations. Many
of these animals are raised in cold, unsanitary breeding compounds. Some
are strays. Others are obviously pets who were most likely stolen. And the
killing methods are grisly. Dogs—German shepherds, chows, and mixed
breeds—are bludgeoned or bled to death. Cats are often strangled by wire
nooses.
Further Information: Betrayal of Trust: The Global Trade in Dog and
Cat Fur www.respectforanimals.org
Canadian
Seal Hunt Canada's annual commercial seal hunt is the largest slaughter
of marine mammals on the planet. Over 300,000 harp and hooded seals are
killed for their pelts each year, with many skinned alive, according to
independent veterinary reports. The last time this many seals were
killed—in the 1950s and 1960s—the harp seal population was reduced by as
much as two-thirds. In 2005, 98.5% of the seals killed were just two
months of age or younger. At the time of slaughter, many had not yet eaten
their first solid meal or taken their first swim. They literally had no
escape from the "hunters."
Newborn
and Fetal Karakul Lambs Garments made from the pelts of newborn karakul
lambs—often referred to as "Persian lamb," "karakul," and "astrakhan,"—are
a staple of the fur fashion world. So too are garments made of fetal
karakul lambs (known as "broadtail"), which the fur industry claims are
crafted from animals born prematurely due to accident or exposure. In
March 2000, investigators with The Humane Society of the United States
(HSUS) toured a karakul sheep farm near Bukhara, in the former Soviet
republic of Uzbekistan, and found that pregnant ewes are in fact routinely
slaughtered for these fetal pelts. Graphic videotape shot at the farm
shows a pregnant ewe held down, her throat slit and her stomach slashed
wide so that a worker could remove the developing fetus—the "raw material"
for coats, vests, and other broadtail fashions. What's more, contrary to
the industry's claims that karakul lamb fur is merely a byproduct of meat
production, HSUS investigators videotaped newborn lambs displayed as
"samples" of pelt colors before being sent to their death. The pelts were
saved, the tiny carcasses discarded as trash.
Further Information: See the video or read the report on The Humane
Society of the United States' investigation into karakul lamb fur
production
Fur Trim The fur industry is working on a
whole new line. No longer limited to full-length mink coats or fox-fur
jackets, fur trim is the rage. From suit collars to glove linings, fur
trim is being used as an accessory for many fashion items. Fur-trimmed
items currently are a half billion-dollar industry. Fur trim is a
frivolous luxury responsible for the deaths of millions of animals each
year. The number of animals killed for fur trim is expected to overtake
the number of animals killed for full-fur garments. Because the trim trade
doesn't place as much emphasis on pelt quality, color, and uniformity, the
quality of care given to furbearers is diminished.
Further Information: A Little Bit of Fur Is Big Business Faux or
Feline? The Truth in Fur Labeling Act Will Help You Choose