Fur

Facts about fur: This is how animals live in the fur industry

The fur industry – an industry that thrives on myths

Some people want to believe that their fur is produced without harming animals. Some people want to believe that fur animals have lived a happy life and died a painless death before being turned into fashion items. Some people are so preoccupied with believing that they fail to think.

New awareness of animal welfare

The most important thing for the fur industry is that consumers do not start to think twice. That is why the focus is on presenting fur as a stylish fashion item. However, many people have now seen with their own eyes how animals on fur farms live in cramped wire cages. Many have learned that the animals exhibit compulsive behavior, apathy, and self-destructive tendencies out of sheer frustration with their stimulus-poor lives. It is no longer a secret that millions of animals live without the opportunity to move normally and without the opportunity to enjoy life.

All animals deserve respect

Of course, fur does not keep you as warm as this does. Fur no longer appears beautiful to those who dare to see its history with eyes that are not clouded by convenience. Fur is no longer stylish, but painful and a sign of disrespect for animals. Fur is not a natural material, but is produced through the unnatural exploitation of animals.

Do we have the right to imprison living, sentient beings, subject them to suffering, and take their lives? And all 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 that they are fearful of humans. This fear is stressful for the animals. Even animals that do not immediately show signs of fear have instincts and needs that cannot be "bred away." This applies, among other things, to their need for exercise, social needs, and species-specific behavior. These natural needs cannot be met in small cages.

Mink in the wild

In the wild, minks can occupy territories of approximately 2.5 km2 and live near water. The mink is an active, curious, and resourceful animal that hunts both underwater and on land. Mink make their homes in burrows under tree roots or in rock crevices. With webbed feet, mink are skilled swimmers and depend on water.

Scientific studies have shown that the need to swim is still strong in captive mink. Nevertheless, 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 only 30 cm wide. Mink in cages show clear signs of behavioral disorders: About 15% of the animals' waking hours, 6 hours a day, are spent engaging in compulsive behavior. Compulsive behavior can include biting the cage or their own fur in frustration, pacing restlessly, or being completely apathetic. The animals that react with passivity may be the ones that suffer the most, as they cannot vent their frustration.

Fox breeding - prohibited in Denmark

Fox farming is prohibited in Denmark on ethical grounds. As early as 1989, the Ethical Council on Livestock determined that fox farming was unethical.

The Danish Parliament subsequently adopted a series of regulations to improve conditions for foxes. However, in 2009, it was concluded that it was not possible to establish regulations that would provide acceptable conditions for the animals, and therefore it was decided to ban fox farming on ethical grounds. The farms are now being phased out.

The welfare problems of foxes on fur farms are similar to those of minks. Both species are predators that have not been tamed by captivity and cannot express their natural behavior in cages.

All the conditions that make fox breeding illegal also apply to mink breeding.

How to make your coat shiny

The industry claims that shiny fur is a sign of well-being. High fur quality can be achieved despite poor welfare. The feed, which consists of grain, fish, and slaughterhouse waste, is very important: in the fall, the carbohydrate content is increased in relation to the protein content, which makes the fur 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 foxes, this is an unnatural situation, as they live in family groups in the wild. The pups are taken from their mother when they are about 6-7 months old.

When the foxes are to be inseminated, they are grabbed by the neck with metal tongs. Estrus is determined using an estrus meter—a type of "thermometer" that is inserted into the animal's genital opening.

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

How the animals die

The puppies are killed when they are approximately 6-7 months old. The breeding animals are kept in farm conditions for up to 6 years before they are skinned. Foxes are often killed with electricity by inserting electrodes into their mouths and rectums. This method of killing causes pain similar to a heart attack. The fox feels this 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 acknowledges 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, approximately 10 million fur animals are captured in the wild. Coyotes and beavers are caught in fox traps, and seals are killed with clubs. The fur industry has wiped out many species in its quest for popular furs for designers.

Trapping - cruel and slow

Fox traps are the most commonly used and brutal traps. They hold the animals until the traps are checked and they are killed by blows or gunshots. Many animals such as dogs, cats, and birds are accidentally caught in the traps. These animals are considered waste by the fur industry as they cannot be sold. They are therefore not included in the ten million. Several traps are illegal in Denmark. Nevertheless, every year, millions of skins are imported from these very traps.

Seal hunting – a massacre of wild animals

Every year, 1 million seals are killed for the fashion industry. Most are killed with a club that crushes their skulls. However, not all blows are accurate, and many seals are therefore skinned while still fully conscious. The EU has banned the import of seal products following the work of many other organizations. However, commercial seal hunting has not yet been completely stopped!

Fur farming - on its way out of Europe

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

However, the fact is that from the far north of Norway and Sweden to Italy in the south, Europe is slowly but surely making the fur industry a relic of the past. Seventeen out of 27 EU countries have already banned fur farming, and another seven European countries are currently considering proposals to ban fur. The first ban on fur farms was introduced in England in 2000, so the political development is clear and rapid. All these countries have recognized that the welfare of fur animals is so poor on fur farms that it is not possible to offer the animals tolerable conditions and that it is ethically questionable to kill animals solely for their fur when there are many alternatives. Denmark has banned fox farms for ethical reasons, and the next logical step is to close mink farms as well.

Fur and the environment

Fur animals are predators and therefore produce manure that is rich in phosphate and nitrogen, which, according to the Danish Environmental Protection Agency, means that mink farms pollute more per animal unit than any other form of animal production. In 2003, the Danish Environmental Protection Agency determined 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 animal farming is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions. To the surprise of many, animal farming pollutes more than all cars, planes, and other parts of the transport sector combined. The millions of animals raised for fur contribute negatively to global warming. The following is the verdict from a well-known case in which the fur industry had attempted to market fur as organic: "Considering the way fur is produced—by trapping (often with leghold traps), fur farms, and as a by-product of industrial livestock farming – it cannot be claimed that fur is 'organic'. In our opinion, fur has nothing to do with the natural relationship between animals and the environment in which they live. The processing of fur products cannot be called organic or environmentally friendly either, as substances that are harmful to the environment are used..."

Leather processing pollutes

Leather tanning is classified by the World Bank as one of the five most environmentally harmful industries in the world. The tanning process uses chromium and ozone, among other substances. Any 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 trimmings under false names. This information comes from an 18-month undercover investigation in China conducted by the world's largest animal welfare organization, 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 make their fur thick. Animals are also captured directly from the streets, and thus many private pets end up as fur coats.

Dog fur in Denmark

Although the animals are skinned in China, many of the pelts end up in Europe. Here they are sold under names such as ‘Asian/Chinese wolf’, ‘Rabbit’, ‘Gou-pee’ and countless other names. Once the pelts are dyed and cut, it is almost impossible to tell which animal the pelt comes from.

A significant amount of dog fur is smuggled into the trade as trimmings on jackets, shoes, and gloves—even stuffed animals and toys can have fur that comes from dogs.