Whims of Fashion Fatal to Furbearers What's it Like to be Trapped? Economics of the The raccoon on the cover of this report is Are young children taught to be insensi­ A fox emerges from the swamp grass and chews off his foot. The terror-stricken fox U.S. Fur Trade only one of about 17 million U.S. furbear­ tive to pain and suffering when there's a moves along its usual path of travel. limps off into the swamp grass leaving a ers killed each year. Most have been made trapping tradition in their homes? When WHAM! The jaws of the trap slam shut on trail of blood. The HSUS estimates that there are about to suffer the agony of the steel jaw trap. they see row upon row of fur coats in the the fox's right rear leg. The startled and ter­ This event, commonly called "wring 300,000 trappers in the United States, the The trapper's coup de grace is often admin­ department stores? rified fox struggles to break free. The off" by trappers, could have taken two vast majority of whom do not derive a sub­ istered with a club, a noose, or a boot heel. Parents are always confronted with ques­ smooth jaws of the trap bite into flesh caus­ hours, two days, or maybe even two weeks. stantial portion of their income from trap­ And let us not forget the millions of other tions such as: "How did they kill it Daddy? ing traumatic injury to skin, ligaments, and ping. HSUS estimates that the typical fur animals which are raised and slaugh­ Why do they do it Mommy?" The parent muscle. skilled part-time trapper earns between tered' on so-called fur ranches! All of this usually frowns and the child soon learns not Fear and anxiety keep the tiring creature =·- $400 and $1,000 a year. death and suffering in the name of fashion. to ask those kinds of questions. going. The fox attempts to rest but terror g Prices paid to trappers in 1978 for pelts Killing fur animals for luxury products is Whether we like it or not, we grow up to has overtaken it. It must escape! So, it 1 ranged from $17 for a raccoon to $275 for a both a moral and an ecological problem. be a great deal like our parents. Wanting a begins to gnaw at its own flesh. a lynx. Each and every fur coat creates a demand fur coat is "learned behavior." It is learned A Canadian Wildlife Service publication � The principal species raised in captivity in for more and more pelts. This intensive because Mother or Father had one. It is graphically reported: "The stomachs of � the U.S. are rabbit, mink, fox, and chin­ trapping pressure stimulates "game man­ learned because advertising says we must (trapped) Artie foxes ...often contain parts f chilla. Mink is by far the most popular agement" - programs that promote the have one. It is learned because our peers of their own bodies. They may swallow 8 species raised on ranches expressly for fur. propagation of economically valuable have one. fragments of their teeth broken off in biting � In 1976, more than three million pelts were species at the expense of other living crea­ It is not learned because we need one. We the trap, and sometimes part of a mangled � raised on the 1,100 mink farms in the U.S. tures in the ecosystem. These creatures are don't need fur coats and other products. foot; almost every stomach contains some '1 The export of furs and fur products essential to the efficient operation of We have central heating. Fur coats are ex­ fox fur, and a considerable number contain In March of '79, animal control officers in brought about 300million dollars into the natural systems. And our insensitivity to the pensive to buy, expensive to store, and pieces of skin, claws, or bits of bone... " the San Diego area were forced to euthanize U.S. in 1977. In the same year we spent terror, pain, and suffering brought about expensive to maintain. We buy them As the animal twists and turns, the bone this bobcat. He had escaped from a trap in about 172 million dollars importing furs. by the use of the steel jaw trap adversely af­ because we have "learned" they are a sign can break. In this condition, the animal which both left feet had been caught. The total retail sales of all fur garments in fects our relationships with all living things, of affluence, a certificate for peer accep­ 1978 brought 725 million dollars into the including fellow human beings. tance, or because we think they "look" coffers of the fur industry, an industry that The trap is a blind instrument of death. A good on us. employs fewer than 5,000 people in about trapper may set out his trap to catch a fur­ Nonsense! Cruel Nonsense! 663 firms. bearer. But a bird might swoop down to Life and Death on the Ranch As you see the real profits are being made take the bait and be trapped. This not only An inexpensive fur coat costs between ... Most of our country's fur ranches are to protect ranch-raised fur animals from an by the furriers and the fur designers. Their disrupts the chain of life which is essential $2,000 and $5,000. The more expensive located in the Northwestern and Great inhumane death. Our fur animals are sim­ names read like an honor role of the to the preservation of the balance of nature, coats may cost $100,000 or more, especially "' Lakes states. It is believed that the colder ply at the mercy of their owners. fashion world: but causes needless suffering and death to the coats that are made from portions of an � climates of these regions produce more lux­ so-called "trash" animals. And if that's animal such as the stomach or muzzle. urious pelts. Yves St. Laurent Charlotte Ford not bad enough, The HSUS has accumu­ One of the cruelties on these ranches can Givenchy Donald Brooks Dior (Laurence Kaye) Kasper lated a litany of case reports documenting be attributed to the genetic tinkering that incidents in which domestic pets have been Bill Blass Ann Klein goes on. As they seek to develop valuable Outlawing the Trap: Perry Ellis maimed and have lost their paws or legs in Calvin Klein colors, the ranchers have developed strains An Uphill Battle Oscar de la Renta Karl Lagerfeld steel jaw traps. How Many Skins Make a Coat? of mink that are deaf, blind, or afflicted Geoffrey Beene Ungaro with a variety of neuromuscular disorders. More than 19 other nations outlaw the Halston Ralph Lauren When we look at the fur draped manne­ history of that coat, there's a good chance The royal pastel mink has developed an ab­ steel jaw trap. To date, no federal legisla­ Giorgio Sant 'Angelo Nore!! quin in the salon, do we ever ask ourselves, there'd be no such thing as mink coats. And normality known as "screw neck." When tion has been successful. Trapping is estab­ Pierre Balmain John Anthony "How many animals had to die to make the same is true of other ranch furs. an afflicted mink is frightened, it turns its lished as a "states' rights" issue. Dianne Von Furstenberg that coat?" No, we don't. The skins are neck so that the underside is exposed to There has been some moderate success from anonymous creatures who have been view. White minks from Norway known as reforming trapping laws on the state level They are supporting the cruelties of the sewn together in a blurred montage which The Number of Pelts in Average "hedlund hvit" are known to be completely but very little success in banning the trap. trap and the ranch by designing and creat­ no longer resembles nature's original crea­ Fur Garment deaf. Only five states substantially limit the trap: ing demand for fur products. Their major tion. Furriers even call their coats Mink are often housed in nest boxes Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jer­ allies are people between the ages of 25-34 "creations." varying in floor size from 30 cm. x 100 cm. sey, Rhode Island, and Florida. Each of and 45-64. Together, these two groups are In truth, every fur coat is made up of Species Pelts to 100cm. x 200cm. One Association of fur these five has built in some provision for the responsible for 83 OJo of all fur sales in the skins of many animals of one species - not Leopard 4-5 farm breeders claims to be able to raise use of the trap with permits for special pur­ U.S. just one animal. The average ranch-raised 5,000 mink on one acre of ground. poses such as animal damage control Who's responsible for the deaths of mil­ Tiger 3-5 mink coat can contain as many as 40-50 Mink are usually "pelted" in their fourth Within the past decade, more than 300 lions of furbearing animals? Is it the buyer? "' Lynx 10 :, pelts. That's 40-50 mink who were raised year. Some may be kept alive as long as six bills on trapping reform have been intro­ The trapper? The rancher? The furrier? Ocelot 12 =I on the meat of previously slaughtered and years if they prove to be good for breeding duced before approximately thirty state leg­ The answer, like the answer to all difficult skinned mink, subjected to animal hus­ Opossum 25 purposes.