Fur

Facts about fur: what life is like for animals in the fur industry

The fur industry - an industry that lives on myths

Some want to believe that their fur is produced without animals having been harmed. Some want to believe that the fur animals lived a happy life and died a painless death before being made into fashion. Some are so obsessed with believing that they fail to think.

New awareness of animal living conditions

The most important thing for the fur industry is precisely that consumers do not begin to think twice. That's why it's focusing on producing fur as a stylish fashion. But many people have now seen for themselves how animals on fur farms live in cramped wire cages. Many have learned that the animals exhibit compulsive behaviour, apathy and self-destructive tendencies in sheer frustration at their low-stimulation lives. It is no longer a secret that millions of animals live without the opportunity to move normally and without the chance to enjoy life.

All animals deserve respect

Of course, fur does not warm as well for it as this. A coat no longer appears beautiful to anyone who dares to see its past with eyes that are not blurred by convenience. Then fur is no longer stylish, but suffering and a sign of disrespect for animals. Fur is not a natural material, but is produced by the unnatural exploitation of animals.

Do we have the right to imprison living sentient individuals, subject them to suffering and take their lives? And this just for the sake of our vanity? For more and more people, the answer is no.

Animals never get used to cages

Fur animals are not tame even after 100 years in captivity. This means they are fearful of humans. This fear is in itself stressful for the animals. Even animals that do not immediately show signs of fear have instincts and needs that cannot be "bred away". These include movement needs, social needs and species-specific behaviour. These natural needs cannot be met in the small cages.

Mink in freedom

In the wild, mink can hold territories of about 2.5 km2 and live near water. The mink is an active, curious and inventive animal that hunts underwater as well as on land. They make their homes in burrows under tree roots or in rock crevices. With webbed toes, the mink is an avid swimmer and is dependent on water.

Scientific studies have shown that the need for water to swim in is still strong in captive mink. Yet no mink are offered swimming water.

The mink - deprived of its nature

Approximately 14 million mink are bred on Danish fur farms. A cage for two mink is just 30 cm wide. Caged mink show clear signs of behavioural disorders: about 15% of the animals' waking time, at 6 hours a day, is spent in compulsive behaviour. Compulsive behaviour can include biting the cage or their own fur in frustration, wandering restlessly or being completely apathetic. The animals that react with passivity may be the ones that suffer the most, as they have no outlet for their frustration.

Fox farming - banned in Denmark

Fox farms are banned in Denmark for ethical reasons. Already in 1989, the Ethical Council on Domestic Animals stated that fox farms were unethical.

Parliament then adopted a number of rules to improve the foxes' conditions. But in 2009, it was concluded that it was not possible to make rules that would give the animals acceptable conditions, and so it was decided to ban fox breeding on ethical grounds. The farms are now being phased out.

Fox welfare problems on fur farms are similar to mink. Both species are predators that have not been tamed by captivity and are unable to express their natural behaviour in cages.

All the conditions that make fox farming prohibited therefore also apply to mink farming.

How the coat becomes shiny

The industry claims that shiny fur is a sign of well-being. High coat quality can be achieved despite poor welfare. The feed, consisting of cereals, fish and slaughterhouse waste, is of great importance: in autumn, the carbohydrate content increases in relation to the protein content - making the coat shiny.

Birth and death on the farm

Mating takes place in March for both species, and the pups are born in April/May. Only the mother has contact with the pups. For the fox this is an unnatural situation, as in the wild they live in family groups. The cubs are taken from the mother when they are about 6-7 months old.

When the foxes are to be inseminated, they are grasped around the neck with metal pliers. Oestrus is determined using an oestrus meter - a type of "thermometer" that is inserted into the animal's genital opening.

The mink is handled by the farmer with a thick glove to protect him from the frightened animal's attempts at self-defence.

How the animals die

The puppies are killed when they are about 6-7 months old. Breeding animals are confined to farm environments for up to 6 years before being pelted. Foxes are often electrocuted by inserting electrodes into the mouth and rectum. This killing method induces pain like a heart attack. This is felt by the fox while it is still alive.

Gassing is often presented as a humane method of killing. However, scientific studies have shown that mink have a strong aversion to the gas, which makes death painful.

The European Commission recognises that the methods used to kill the animals are painful, but has chosen not to ban them for commercial reasons.

Animals caught in the wild

Every year, about 10 million fur animals are caught in the wild. Coyotes and beavers are caught in fox traps, and seals are killed by clubbing. The fur industry has wiped out many species in pursuit of popular designer furs.

Trapping - cruel and slow

Fox scissors are the most commonly used and brutal traps. They hold the animals until the traps are checked and they are killed with blows or shots. Many animals, such as dogs, cats and birds, are caught unintentionally in traps. These animals are considered waste by the fur industry as they cannot be sold. They are therefore not counted in the ten million. Several traps are illegal in Denmark. Yet millions of skins are imported every year from the same traps.

Seal hunting - a massacre of wild animals

1 million seals die every year for the fashion industry. Most are killed with bludgeons that crush their skulls. However, not all blows are equally accurate and many seals are therefore skinned while fully conscious. The EU has banned imports of seal products following work by many other organisations. However, commercial seal hunting has not yet been stopped completely!

Fur farming - on its way out of Europe

Living in a country where there are almost three times as many mink as there are people, it may seem far-fetched to think that this industry and all other forms of fur farming are on their way to being banned.

The fact is, however, that from the far north in Norway and Sweden to Italy in the south, Europe is slowly but surely turning the fur industry into a relic of the past. 17 out of 27 countries in the EU have already banned fur farming, and a further 7 European countries are currently considering proposals to ban fur. The first ban on fur farms was introduced in the UK in 2000, so the political momentum is clear and fast. All these countries have recognised that the welfare of fur animals on farms is so poor that it is not possible to provide animals with tolerable conditions and that it is ethically questionable to kill animals for their fur alone when there are many alternatives. Denmark has banned fox farms on ethical grounds and the next logical step is to close mink farms as well.

Fur and environment

Fur animals are predators and therefore produce manure rich in phosphate and nitrogen, which according to the Danish EPA means that mink farms pollute more per animal unit than any other form of animal production. In 2003, the Danish EPA stated that Danish mink farms pollute the environment with as many nutrients as half a million people.

Fur farms are more polluting than cars

In 2006, the UN published the report Livestock's long shadow, which documented that livestock farming is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions. To the surprise of many, livestock farming pollutes more than all cars, planes and other parts of the transport sector. The millions of animals raised for fur contribute negatively to global warming. The following is the verdict of a well-known case where the fur industry had tried to market fur as organic: "Considering the way fur is produced - by trapping (often with foot scissors), fur farms, and as a residue of industrial livestock farming - it cannot be claimed that fur is "organic". After all, according to our assessment, fur has nothing to do with the natural relationship between animals and the environment in which they live, nor can the processing of fur products be called organic or environmentally friendly, as substances harmful to the environment are used..."

Skin treatment pollutes

The World Bank ranks leather tanning as one of the 5 most environmentally damaging industries in the world. The tanning process uses chromium and ozone, among other substances. No other textile is more environmentally friendly than fur.

Dog and cat fur

Dog and cat fur is typically imported from Asia and sold in Denmark as fur details under false names. The information here comes from an 18-month undercover investigation in China by the world's largest animal welfare organisation, the Humane Society of the United States. The dogs are bred in northern China, where the climate is coldest. The dogs are kept in unheated rooms to thicken their coats. Animals are also captured directly from the street, so many private pets end up as fur coats.

Dog fur in Denmark

Although the animals are skinned in China, many of the furs end up in Europe. Here they are sold under disguised names such as 'Asian/Chinese wolf', 'Rabbit', 'Gou-pee' and countless others. When the fur is dyed and cut out, it is almost impossible to tell which animal the fur comes from.

Much fur from dogs is smuggled into the trade as details on jackets, shoes and gloves - even stuffed animals and toys can have fur derived from dogs.