Fur farming

Fur farming is the practice of breeding or raising certain types of animals for their fur.

The animal most commonly farmed for its fur is the mink. As of 2003, Denmark had the largest fur-farming industry, with 35% of world production. ^{[citation needed]}

Demand fell in the late 1980s and 1990s because of a number of factors, including the failure of designers to come up with exciting new lines, and also the efforts of animal rights campaigners. Since the turn of the millennium, however, sales worldwide have soared to record highs, fuelled by radically new techniques for working with fur, and a sharp rise in disposable income in China and Russia. This growing demand has led to the development of extensive fur farming operations in countries such as China, where activist groups such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals have raised concerns about what they allege is the inhumane treatment of animals (animals are sometimes skinned while alive) and the nature of some slaughterhouse practices.

History

The first fur farms in North America appeared in the 1860s. Historically, the fur trade played an important economic role in the United States. Fur trappers explored and opened up large parts of North America, and the fashion for beaver hats led to intense competition for supplies of raw materials. Starting in the latter half of the 20th century, producers and wearers of fur have been criticized because of the perceived cruelty involved in animal trapping and because the availability other natural and synthetic fibers that competed with fur.

Today, 85 per cent of the fur industry's skins comes from animals raised on farms. The most farmed fur-bearing animal is the mink, followed by the fox. Chinchilla, lynx, and even hamsters are also farmed for their fur. Sixty-four percent of fur farms are in Northern Europe, 11 percent are in North America, and the rest are dispersed throughout the world, in countries such as Argentina and Russia.

Various types

Mink

Mink have been farmed for fur in the United States for 130 years. In 2005, the U.S. ranked fourth in production behind Denmark, China and the Netherlands. Mink typically breed in March, and give birth to their litters in May. Farmers vaccinate the young kits for botulism, distemper, enteritis, and, if needed, pneumonia. They are harvested in late November and December. Methods for killing animals on fur farms, as on all farms, are detailed in the American Veterinary Medical Association's Report on Euthanasia (published every five to seven years) which is used as the standard for state departments of agriculture which have jurisidction over all farms raising domesticated livestock, including mink.

The white mink is a breed that has, until recently, lived exclusively in northern Europe. A Canadian mink rancher Percy Verner Noble introduced the species into his farm in 1998. This development has lead to a prosperous industry in the North American fur trade.

Chinchilla

The international trade in chinchilla fur goes back to the 1500s and the animal (whose name literally means "Little Chincha") is named after the Chincha people of the Andes, who wore its soft and dense fur. By the end of the 19th century, chinchillas had become quite rare. In 1923, Mathias F. Chapman brought the eleven wild chinchillas he had captured to the U.S. for breeding. Only three of these were female. Pop musician Madonna wore a chinchilla fur coat, made of an estimated 40 chinchillas in December 2006, [1] and this outraged animal rights groups who accused the star of ignoring the reality of how animals are farmed for their skins. [2]

Controversy

Opponents of fur farming state that, as with other large scale animal farms, the methods used on fur factory farms are focused on maximizing profits rather on the physical or psychological welfare of the animals.

As with other types of large scale animal farming, living conditions of animals do vary and the extreme cases are ones of much contention. For example, according to PETA, some fur farmers pack animals into small cages, preventing them from taking more than a few steps back and forth. [3] This crowding and confinement is extremely distressing to mink — solitary animals who may occupy as much as 2,500 acres (10 km²) of wetland habitat in the wild. Life in a cage leads minks to self-mutilate — biting at their skin, tails, and feet — and frantically pace and circle endlessly. Zoologists at Oxford University who studied captive mink found that, despite generations of being bred for fur, minks have not been domesticated and suffer greatly in captivity, especially if they are not given the opportunity to swim.^{[citation needed]} Foxes, raccoons, and other animals suffer equally and have been found to cannibalize each other as a reaction to their crowded confinement. ^{[citation needed]}

Farmers argue that young mink and foxes, such as those found on farms, are not solitary animals while young and actually do better with a "litter mate" to share a pen. Farmers argue that poor health and negative animal behavior on a farm has always resulted in farmers changing and improving living conditions to reach a balance between what is practical for the farmer/owner and what is beneficial for the animals. Farmers argue that the living conditions are optimal for the farmed animals and result in good health, growth and reproduction.

In other cases, as with passing of animal welfare legislation in Italy, animals are required to be "given enriched living environments in which they can climb on branches, dig holes, use a nest of 50 x 50 cm and also have a water basin of at least 2 x 2 metres and 50 cm deep in which to swim." [3]Farmers argue that 50 years ago, the animals were kept in large outdoor holding areas, with pools of water. However, such "farms" resulted in high disease rates for the animals and were not practical.

Farmers argue that today's farmed animals only know farm life. Hunters and trappers argue that the ultimate in "free range" fur comes from wild harvest where the animals live all their lives in the wild.

The methods used for killing the animals vary depending on the animal. For wild furs, biologists and wildlife managers dictate seasons, methods of kill and numbers of animals to be taken.

Mink farmers usually breed female mink once a year. The average litter is three or four kits. The pelts are harvested in the late fall, early winter with the finests animals held over until the next year to restock the farm.

In 2005, a questionable video surfaced detailing a fur farm in Hebei, China in which men were seen in the video throwing live animals to the ground and skinning them while they were still alive. The organization, Swiss Animal Protection SAP[4], has been credited as the group who filmed the video in an undercover investigation.

A short video is available from Italian Web-TV ArcoIris on fur farming in underdeveloped areas of China: [5] (RealPlayer); [6] (WMV).

Legality

Fur farming was banned in England and Wales by the Fur Farming (Prohibition) Act 2000 [7] and in Scotland by the Fur Farming (Prohibition) (Scotland) Act 2002.[8]

At second reading, the ban in England and Wales was justified principally on grounds of public morality.[9]

"Bont voor Dieren: Support Our Efforts for Animal Rights". Bont voor Dieren. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)

In Austria, six of the nine federal states have banned fur farming and in the remaining three there are such strict welfare regulations, in relation to the availability of swimming water, that fur farming is no longer economically viable.

"Bont voor Dieren: Support Our Efforts to Protect Fur Animals".

In China, there are no present laws to protect the welfare of animals bred on fur farms.

"Dogs and Cats Skinned Alive for Their Fur in China".

External Links

http://www.whiteoak.org/learning/timeline.htm http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/refarticle.aspx?refid=761574462 http://www.furisugly.com/ http://www.hsus.org/furfree/