It's around this time of year that 'certain' individuals decide to dress themselves in the skin of dead animals.
Why? Quite simply....
Vanity! Wearing fur is
'alledgedly' a sign of wealth, glamour and social status. Therefore it's hardly surprising that there is a proliferation of fur coats in Luxembourg.
Personally, and I am sure I am not alone here, I think it looks vile and discussing. Every time I see someone wearing a fur coat, I want to ask them if they know the cruelty imposed on the animal they have draped around them? On more extreme occasions, I wish I had a can of red paint! I've concluded, there isn't enough red paint to go around!*
I actually once sat in a cafe in town on a balmy summer day and watched a woman gently stroke the fur pelt she had strewn across her neck. It was quite visibly a fox as it's head and tail were still attached! How on Earth can someone think this is publicly acceptable?! If it were the skin of a dead cat or dog swathed around her neck, someone would have surely called the police!
Did you know, that the European union is the world's largest producer of factory farmed animals?
"Around 30 million mink, 2 million fox and 100,000 raccoon dogs are killed each year in EU factory farms." -Source: - Humane Society International.
There are
6,000 fur farms in Europe; accounting for
63% of global mink production and 7% of fox production. The worst offenders are
Denmark ( which produces
28% of global mink production),
Finland and the Netherlands. Fur factory farms can also be found in Belgium, Czech Republic, Estonia,France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden.
The most common factory fur farmed animals are Mink, Foxes, Raccoons and Chinchillas. On average to make one single fur coat:-
30 - 70 Mink are killed
10 - 20 Foxes are killed
30 - 40 Raccoons are killed
30 - 200 Chinchilla's are killed
Since their meat is not consumed in Europe, the carcasses are just discarded.
As if these statistics were not grim reading enough, these animals are treated abhorrently. Fur farms use the cheapest and cruelest killing methods available, including
suffocation, electrocution, gas and poison.
Carbon monoxide poisoning is the most widely used technique for killing in the EU and European legislation still permits it. This is despite scientific findings that the animals die an extremely slow and painful death often first provoking excitation and convulsions.
Thankfully, there have been some success stories! Austria and the U.K both passed legislation to fully prohibit the breeding of animals for fur production. The Netherlands banned the production of fox and chinchilla fur in 1995 and 1997 respectively and mink farms are to be phased out by 2024.
Despite these small accomplishments, there is still a long way to go to introduce a complete ban on fur farming in Europe.
"5 things you can do to help? "
1) First and foremost, if the demand for fur decreases, there will be no need for fur farms. Quite simply put;
DON'T BUY FUR! You can take the Fur free pledge at
PETA's website!
2) Many retailers have signed up for the
'FUR FREE RETAILER PROGRAM' Here you will find a list of fur free retailers in Luxembourg who have taken the pledge and can use the
'Shop the Fox' logo.
3) Sign the
petition to Ban Fur Farms in Europe.
4) Write to your local government representative urging Luxembourg to support an EU wide ban on fur farming.
5)
Save Animals Luxembourg will be organising several events to promote the ban of fur. Visit the Save Animals
Facebook page to keep yourself informed of where and when these will take place.
We don't
need to wear fur! There are so many 'natural' and 'synthetic' choices we have to keep warm during the Winter.
Be a
Voice for the animals!
Say NO TO FUR!
Alix
*
Please note that it's a common misconception that activists use red paint....We would be arrested if we did. Leafleting is much more effective!
