“Righteous Fur” Is Not Right
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They’re cute little beaver-like animals with bright orange teeth. To New Orleans Zephyrs fans, they make a charming mascot. But to furriers, they’re just like so many other little furry creatures like mink, fox, raccoon, or rabbit. And this time the furriers have a new spin: Nutria pelts are becoming a new fur fashion trend under the guise of eliminating “invasive species.”
Any serious environmentalist will gladly tell you exactly what species is the most invasive: humans. Joshua Katcher at The Discerning Brute comments, “I’d like to follow this line of logic and ask why no BP executives have been turned into fur coats either?”
Clearly, being a member of an “invasive species” is not a good reason to have someone rip your skin off and wear it over their own. Again, as Katcher explains, “how come no one is using the 6 to 8 million dogs and cats that are euthanized every year in the United States – their fur is “wasted” too, no? And what about real NYC rats who are poisoned to death by the millions every year.”
As the new film, The Skin Trade, aptly explains, the fur industry goes to great lengths to lie to their consumers. Numerous undercover investigations show that fur sellers lie about where the fur comes from (sometimes saying it’s faux when it’s real or saying it’s fox when it’s dog), they lie about how the animals are treated, and they lie about the environmental impacts of fur.
Nutria fur is NOT eco-friendly. Fur cannot rightly be called “environmentalist” “guilt free” or “righteous.” Because even if nutria killing cannot be stopped (which is doubtful), there are better, more environmentally-friendly uses for the dead animal carcasses than to make them into fur coats for rich people:
- bio fuel for mass transit systems
- composting to make nutrient rich soil to grow food for hungry people
- bedding for animals at sanctuaries or wildlife rehabilitation centers
There’s no good reason for fur; fur is just a cruel fashion statement, nothing more.
Agreed with all points. Also,
Nutria were imported to Louisiana from South America specifically to be farmed for the fur trade. If this “invasive” species is SO horrible, then we should ban fur farming to ensure a disaster like this never happens again.
I get frustrated with the people who want to have it both ways… they want fur farming, and they want to ballyhoo about how terrible it is when the farmed animals get loose. Fur animals are wild animals, and they WILL get loose one way or another. When they get loose they either WILL NOT adapt to the environment and die horrible deaths, or they WILL adapt and become an “invasive” species. In other words, FUR FARMING HAS NO POSITIVE OUTCOMES AND LOTS OF NEGATIVE ONES. End it.
On a more controversial note, efforts to “manage wildlife” (oxymoron alert) are doomed to failure. Humans should just leave wild animals alone and learn to adapt to changes in ecosystems. Even when the changes are blamed on an “invasive” species. And even when the changes are inconvenient to some human animals.