Everywhere you turn nowadays there are billboards, magazines advertisements and commercials with celebrities and models sporting the latest fur coat, leather jacket, etc. We can get so caught up in the latest trends and what is mainstream that we forget, or may even be ignorant to the horrendous methods in which these products are made, and how they directly contribute to animal cruelty.
In the past, wearing animal furs and skins was necessary to our survival against extreme temperatures. This is not the case any longer. With synthetic materials available that are just as warm, if not more effective than animal furs and skins, any usage of animal fur, leather, or wool, is for only selfish purposes.
It is easy to think “I don’t own a mink coat or a genuine leather jacket so I must not be contributing to this cruelty.” That is simply not true. The popular UGG boots are a direct product of the abuse and cruelty of sheep from Australia. Even anything that has a small fur trimming or leather patch is a product of the fur farming or leather industry. According to NYC Animal rights, some of the most popular designers and brands that contribute to these horrible industries are BCBG, Dolce & Gabbana, Donna Karan, Giorgio Armani, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs, Michael Kors, and Versace. It is very likely that you have purchased something, or at least supported a designer who contributes to these terrible industries.
Chinese fur farms are among the most dominant in the world. They provide fur to the majority of the globe, and they are also the cruelest in their treatment and killing of the animals they use.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DE56fAD3HyE (Disclaimer: EXTRMELY GRAFFIC)
To quote Olivia Munn, “This is globalization at its worst.”
One organization that has been taking a stance against this horrific mistreatment and cruelty for decades is PETA. Most people have probably heard of their “I’d rather go naked than wear fur” campaigns, but that is not where their efforts stop. They have even gone to the extremes of petitioning outside fashion shows that involve animal fur, they write countless letters and reach out to designers who utilize the fur industry, and even make websites and videos exposing designers who refuse to sign their fur free promises, such as Donna Karan. For more information on their efforts, or to help in the fight against exploiting animals for selfish fashion purposes, visit http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-clothing/
Do you think that fur farms are wrong? Should they be banned globally, or at least have some restrictions? Do you think PETAs efforts to end this industry are just or too extreme?
Globalization & the Writer 
When looking at the conditions of the animal farms alone, they are definitively morally wrong. However, now fur and leather are a common material for clothing, many people, females and males included wear both leather and fur. There is no need to make wearing fur or leather illegal, there just needs to be a way to control the environments when where they are farmed. If an animal is not endangered then there is really no need to make this illegal. I believe that if an animal is killed we should be using everything from that animal, not just throwing parts away. We kill animals for various reasons, people do not talk about making killing animals for meat illegal because they do not kill them in a moral way.
I believe that making all animal fur illegal to wear is not necessary. As long as the animal is not in danger of becoming extinct there fur should be available for people to wear. We eat animals and people don’t have a problem with that so why is it much worse to use there fur or skin. The fur should be legal for people to wear but the factories that create the fur and skin need to have global laws placed on them because while it is all right to where the animals it should not be allowed to mistreat the animal. Skinning the animals before they are even dead or killing them in inhuman ways is wrong they deserve a quick painless death. Also using chemicals to enhance fur output at the harm of the animal is also not right. Animals feel pain and do not understand what for so if we are to use them for our personal gain then we should not do it by harming them.
Fur farming is quite inhumane. So many wild animals are poached for their fur, and I wonder if people realize that if certain practices continue, many animals will become extinct. Back in high school, I remember doing a bit of research on two specific groups of animals that have received spots on the endangered species list – cheetahs and tigers.
Since the beginning of time, anyone who could catch and kill a cheetah was said to have both honor and bravery. However, in today’s society, doing this should no longer be acceptable. These creatures are not only losing the land that they once roamed freely, but they are also being captured, and poached for their beautiful, exotic fur, and are slowly becoming extinct. In fact, it is predicted by the time that our generation has grandkids, cheetahs will only exist in cages. Cheetahs are regarded as rare trophies and are therefore often hunted for their beautiful, exotic fur. Tigers have been kept as the pets of Kings and Emperors since the dawn of time. While they are quite appealing as they are a symbol of strength, they are weak on their own, and their biggest enemy is human kind – they have no place being confined within a cage for their fur, when they clearly belong free out in the wild.
I agree with mlang9494 on the fact that there are synthetic materials that can keep us just as warm and fashionable, and that real fur is mainly just a “want” rather than a necessity. A global ban would probably not be very effective, but any sort of restriction would provide some assistance. The cruel methods that the fur farmers partake in, such as skinning the animals alive sometimes, really needs to change (or not happen at all). People need to start caring and start focusing about animals’ overall well-being, instead of just themselves because one by one, they will disappear.
As the majority could agree, killing any animal for fur is ethically and morally wrong. Animals are beaten to death, abused, skinned, gassed, or electrocuted for their fur for fashion. Though some iconic fashion designers continue to sell fur products and contribute to animal cruelty, others protest it and have become fur-free businesses. Ralph Lauren, one of the biggest names in fashion today, decided in 2006 that it was the right time to become fur-free. He decided to pull all of the fur from the shelves and donate 1,200 of his fur-trimmed coats to charities in developing countries.
Instead of using real fur, designers have been using “fake” fur, which is most commonly known as faux fur. Faux fur is a material made of synthetic fibers that are designed to resemble fur. Though some designers use faux fur as a positive thing, others use it as a masquerade for real fur. Neiman Marcus, an American luxury department store, recently marketed real fur as faux, according to the New York Times. The Federal Trade Commission released that many retailers have been doing this same thing. In 2010, thought, Neiman Marcus was forced to pay a $25,000 judgement fee after a court in the District of Columbia found out they violated consumer protection laws.
In efforts to stop the production of fur clothing lines and animal cruelty, many campaigns have started protesting. As many have mentioned, PETA has come up with various ways to help animals and keep them safe. PETA does not only protect animals from being used as fur, but also from becoming food, experiments, entertainment and abuse.
I absolutely believe that fur farms are cruel and should be made illegal. The problem is that people would be all in an uproar that making a law against them would hurt people’s culture that believe in fur farms. I think that regardless the farms should be made illegal. I do not have money to buy or wear fur or leather , and even if I did I still wouldn’t wear it even if i could because my love of animals is far greater than my want to be stylish.
Animal farms are wrong and cruel, but I don’t think a global ban is possible. It’s extremely difficult to stop people from doing something that they’ve been doing for a while, especially fashion designers. However, I do think some restrictions should be enforced. Animals are being raised for the sole purpose of using their fur for human use. That’s what I find so cruel. These poor animals are being kept in cages and are limited in that they cannot move around as they normally would in their natural habitat.
I own multiple pairs of UGGS and never thought about the fact that the fur inside the boot was from a sheep. I never considered the harsh conditions and treatments that the animals face. Sheep are killed and skinned to serve as the warm fur inside the boot (http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/uggs.asp). Now that I understand exactly what the conditions that animals in fur farms face, I don’t understand why people continue to do it.
I don’t think PETA’s efforts are too extreme because they are supporting something they believe in. Their efforts should be recognized and considered when companies and designers choose to use certain furs.
Personally, I don’t wear fur or leather. It’s not my thing. I can see both sides to the argument when it comes to using fur and leather. On one hand the fur industry creates jobs for people, and it is a profitable industry. On the other hand I think it is wrong to torture animals in order to make a profit. It will take time to ban animal farms, and it will be a difficult objective to undertake. I do not know if it is possible to find a way in which the fur can be taken from animals without there being some form of animal cruelty involved. This would be the best case if it can be figured out. Until this time I would support animal farms being banned, but it will be a hard thing to get rid of.
I really do believe that animal farms are extremely wrong and disturbing to even think about. Even though I can honestly say I don’t often think about what my clothes are made of, it does bother me to think that a lot of clothing lines that is worn daily, such as UGGS and Gucci, have products that are made from animal fur. I think most people think of using fur for clothing somewhat like using trees to make paper. You don’t really think about how wasting paper can really trees in the forest. A lot of people usually say that “the tree is already dead,” so they see no harm in using it. The same way, I feel like a lot of people look at wearing clothing made of fur. Personally, I do believe that animal farms should be banned because it is definitely a form of animal cruelty and I find it highly unfortunate that it is still an issue that still exists today.