Many people see fur as a fashion statement, something that suggests wealth. However, I see fur as a disgraceful alternative to synthetic materials, and makes me feel sick.
It was all very well and good back in historical times when the plastics used to make faux (fake) fur hadn't yet been discovered and fur was essential for warmth. Nowadays I find it shocking that animals are murdered so humans can wear their skin as a symbol of class. I don't have a such problem with leather, as the meat of the cow will be used as food, and I'm no vegetarian. But when an animal is cruelly killed for just its fur it's just wrong! Can you imagine the outrage and disgust there would be if a fox killed a human and then proceeded to wear its skin as a collar? There would be chaos, and the fox would undoubtedly be put down.
Fur companies use horrifying methods to trap and kill the animals. They are often caught in a steel-jaw trap, which snaps shut on the animal's limbs, trapping them. The animal sometimes tries to gnaw off its own leg in its struggle to escape. This struggle can go on for hours, until the person who set the trap comes along, or the animal dies of shock or exhaustion. Water-traps catch the animal and cause it to drown agonisingly slowly.
On fur farms, such as in China, hundreds of animals are bred and suffer in horrendous conditions before being killed for their fur. They're often hideously killed by gas and electric shocks so the fur isn't damaged in the process. There is no law that prevents these cruel methods, so it is legal to be brutal to and torment the poor creatures.
I hope that the law will be changed because of protests against these things, and animal welfare will improve greatly due to this.
