Fur

[sleepy]

I'm indifferent. If the animals was not usable for fur, they would never get to experience life(production), so in this case they have been lucky. And as suffering is relative, you don't suffer if you don't know you suffer. Just make sure they have their basic needs tended for until the fur is ready to be harvested, and I don't have an issue. Consumers control this. If there is no marked, there is no fur production. Personally I don't need fur.

 

[Randomnity]

Hmm, I think I should clarify my answer. I don't like the idea of fur as a trimming or something where it isn't functional (trimming a hood is semi-functional, I guess). Or something ridiculous like trimming summer clothing. In general, I am against killing animals without a good reason, including for sport (although if it's humane, it's not as big of a deal). But I can't fault using it for a useful function (similar to meat), even if the methods could surely be made more humane (similar to meat).

Fur is warmer than synthetics, to my knowledge, and it is produced from a natural source rather than heavily-processed plastic materials (if you're worried about global warming and all that). It also decays naturally in a landfill, unlike synthetics, and it has a much nicer feel (and arguably, look). It is also probably less likely to be produced by people in horrible living conditions in a factory. Buying it can support the livelihood of native people in a productive way, in some cases. So I think there's a valid argument for using it, even though it's possible to live without it. It's possible to live without many things (like meat) that enrich the lives of many people.

 

[lowtech redneck]

A lot of “extreme” AR activists do extreme actions because they feel like nothing else is going to work. How do you get people who don't give a damn to care, to change their ways?

Mostly now, the first thought that comes to my mind is what sort of human being supports that? What sort of human being actually picks the first option of this poll?

1.) Which is the same reasoning as any other extremist-though most other extremist save their unrestrained passion and hyperbole for issues regarding human rights and welfare.

2.) The first thought than comes to my mind is that you must have had a very sheltered upbringing within a very closed and socially homogonous social circle to be able to dehumanize people who disagree with you on this issue.

 

[Oberon]

Also, please quit saying "da projects."

You find it distasteful?

I borrowed the term from hip-hop culture. I suppose I haven't "earned the right" to use it...?

 

[ajblaise]

You find it distasteful?

I borrowed the term from hip-hop culture. I suppose I haven't "earned the right" to use it...?

A middle aged white guy using hip-hop culture in any way is to be prohibited.

You're lucky I didn't give out an infraction for that, bro.

 

[Edasich]

1.) Which is the same reasoning as any other extremist-though most other extremist save their unrestrained passion and hyperbole for issues regarding human rights and welfare.

I work with a peaceful, non-violent animal rights group.

2.) The first thought than comes to my mind is that you must have had a very sheltered upbringing within a very closed and socially homogonous social circle to be able to dehumanize people who disagree with you on this issue.

Well your first thought is incorrect, sir (miss?)

I think human beings at their core are all fundamentally good. Someone who supports that torture has lost touch with their humanity. Like all abusers – be it human or animal abusers -they need help.

 

[strawberries]

Who wouldn't be complaining? I don't care who does it, and how rich they are. My issue is not with rich people, but with people who don't care that animals are tortured and killed for their frivolous desires. In the projects, you might be more likely to find dog fighting for sport than fur-wearing, which I find equally reprehensible.

your avatar is wearing a leather jacket.

 

[sculpting]

My grandmother used to raise rabbits and other livestock. The rabbits would be shipped out about every six weeks or so and slaughtered for meat/fur. they loaded them on a large 18 wheeler that had vented cages stacked from top to bottom. The animals had a reasonable life for a farm animal and were treated humanely, although not pets.

I have watched a few videos online of animals being skinned and to be honest-while gross for the typical person who gets their meat from a saran wrapped package-it was quick electric shock, repeated if the animal was still responsive followed by decapitation. I cant say totally painless, but quick.

 

[Oberon]

You're lucky I didn't give out an infraction for that, bro.

You know... I see what you did there...!

 

[ajblaise]

You know... I see what you did there...!

Hey, stoner and surfer white guys and black guys get to share the word bro! Isn't that interesting?

That's why we have good race relations with each other like that.

 

[Oberon]

I still would like to hear Tallulah articulate her objection to my use of the term.

 

[strawberries]

^^ it's a bit naff oberon. kinda like when my dad plays car racing games on xbox and leans his whole person to the side as he goes around a corner.

 

[ajblaise]

I still would like to hear Tallulah articulate her objection to my use of the term.

Tallulah and I are 'N Sync on this one.

You know... the band you probably think is still hot.

 

[Oberon]

The incongruity was kind of the point, honestly. I meant it to seem "wrong" somehow.

So your objections are primarily aesthetic, then?

 

[Spamtar]

I noted indifferent but how I really feel is inconsistent.

I like how fur looks and feels.

On the other hand the Canadian seal pup slaughter really pisses me off tothe point of me boycotting Canadian cod fish, Red Lobster and being ever vigilant against the shifty eyed "Canuck".

They like to comes off as one of those "do gooders" but then you start to notice things about them. Stuff like bloody fingerprints in their closets, garages and bathrooms.

 

[Edasich]

The animals had a reasonable life for a farm animal and were treated humanely, although not pets.

Unfortunately that's not the norm. The majority of animals raised for fur spend their entire life confined in a small cages (intensive fur farming). The stress of the confinement often drives them to cannabilism. A lot of the time the animals are just stunned, so they are still alive when they are skinned. It would be an excruciatingly painful death. It takes 60 mink to make just one coat. All that torture for just one "fashionable" coat.

 

[gromit]

 

[Randomnity]

Unfortunately that's not the norm. The majority of animals raised for fur spend their entire life confined in a small cages (intensive fur farming). The stress of the confinement often drives them to cannabilism. A lot of the time the animals are just stunned, so they are still alive when they are skinned. It would be an excruciatingly painful death. It takes 60 mink to make just one coat. All that torture for just one "fashionable" coat.

Again, this happens on a vastly more grand scale with meat. All that torture for just one "delicious" steak. Why not throw paint on people at McDonalds?

 

[Thalassa]

It seems that fur is being "fashionable" again, but what do we actually think about it? Last Saturday at a family party for example I noticed all of my cousins wearing some kind of (real!) fur and one of my cousins was showing off a dead fox he bought on the market. I personally really detest fur and as I find it pretty much immoral, I nearly considered going vegan the next day just to tease my cousins. Are my cousins, aunts and uncles the only people who love fur, or am I just being a sissy?

Edit: Leather doesn't count here, because that's just slaughter garbage. I'm talking about skins from animals that were exclusively killed for their fur. Also, I'm talking about the Western society here. In some cultures fur is totally acceptable, so that doesn't count here.

Well your added on comments interest me more than the OP: i.e. leather doesn't count here because...

Same with fur. I think if you eat the animal meat anyway there's no reason not to use their furs for warmth.

However, cruel animal farming just for style seems pretty brutal. I am kind of this mixed up person where visceral things like meat, fur, even blood and violence on some level, appeal to me...it seems natural and powerful and instinctive. On the other hand, I'm realistically against making any living being suffer unnecessarily, especially cute little minks and rabbits.

Do they make bear fur hats and coats? I could hang with that. Bears are mean. They'll eat your ass.

I'm also partly amused by your disclaimer that it doesn't count in other cultures where fur is still acceptable. If it's ethically wrong, it's ethically wrong...and if it's acceptable in some cultures for a particular reason, then it should also be acceptable in our culture for the same reasons. Seems logical to me.

 

[Tallulah]

I still would like to hear Tallulah articulate her objection to my use of the term.

I thought ajblaise covered it.