Puppies, what a delightful word,
filled with connotations of cold nosed little furballs tromping around a fenced
in yard, yet puppies in cages being sold for their pelts, not so delightful. Now
the United States may be above these puppy mills, but that does not exclude
American companies and desingers that buy from Chinese manufactures who use beloved domestic
cats and dogs as a winter coat. Why in a world with so many innovations,
including acrylic made fibers do producers and consumers continue to buy and
sell our precious house pets on a “fashionable” coat. Sarah LeTrent quoted in a
CNN article, “Joshua Katcher who crafted the animal-free men's shoes for
Vaute's presentation, said the use of leather and fur is tough to rationalize
now because of the technological advances of faux products.” (LeTrent, 21) So
the same look without the expense of an actual life.
Cruella Deville was a fictitious
evil character who went after adorable little Dalmatians to create the “coat of
all coats.” Why is this wrong in a children’s movie yet in real life, it is
widely practiced? Money, this is just an efficient way of making money, because
those lovely little animals run rampant in overpopulated cities. Scheming
designers see it as an opportunity to maximize their profits with no
consideration to that cold nose.
Now it is not just typically
domestic animals but also those caught in the wild. Every animal is essential
to its own ecosystem. When a certain animal is taken out of its ecosystem,
especially in such large numbers, as in fur trapping, this results, not only in
its own population dwindling, but those who prey on it. In addition those that
it preys on are effected by overpopulation which leads to competition and
eventually a dwindling population of its own. A by product of tanning, the process
of turning an animal hide into a palpable product, is phosphorus, as David
Suzuki states in his online journal, “The elevated phosphorus loading that has
occurred and continues to occur in all of these lakes will have adverse effects
on the aquatic ecosystems. The increased growth of algae and aquatic macrophytes
will ultimately create oxygen deficit and likely result in fish kills” (Suzuki,
17.) Fish kills are exactly what one would expect they are, because of the lack
of sunlight, due to the over production of algae, phytoplankton are not able to
create oxygen for pond organisms, like nekton (free swimming organisms. i.e.
fish, turtles) die off.
The act of attaining fur is not
only atrociously inhumane, but it ruins the relationship between humans and
animals. Domestic and wild animals alike, every one is important. Not only is
the fur industry ruin habitats for important species, it is also effecting
human health, which seems to be the issue the general population pays attention
to. It is incredibly easy, when you are shopping and something appears to have fur on it, just read the label, it takes all of ten seconds. If it says rabbit fur, kindly put it back on the shelf, if man made, go for it, you got yourself a new jacket! If we do put limits or even a stop to the fur trade industry, then
beautiful and essential animals could one day be obsolete. Animals belong in
nature and in loving homes, and their fur does not belong on the backs of over
indulgent human beings.
Some animals used for their fur:
On Second thought maybe they should just be banned because of how unattractive they are...
LeTrent, Sarah. "Fur on the catwalk: Is it worth the controversy?." CNN. Cable News Network, 15 Feb. 2013. Web. 30 Oct. 2013.
Suzuki, David. "The impacts of the mink industry on freshwater lakes in Nova Scotia: An overview of concerns ." David Suzuki Foundation . N.p., 25 Apr. 2011. Web. 30 Oct. 2013.
Word count (567) Not counting citation and photo captions
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