28 April
Readers
of a certain age may well remember the back lash over real fur coats when
pictures like this …
And this
…
… were
splattered across the media. Of course the tabloids lead the way; but you know
what? They were right to do so. However, the luxury end of the fur market is
booming again. Last night we sat and watched a documentary in the This World series that covered this
story. The man who presented it visited a number of places overseas to see how
the animals are caught and processed.
He
visited Russia where at a medium sized fur farm he saw how thousands of sable,
mink. Lynx and other animals are kept in small cages. In Australia he visited a
saltwater crocodile farm where wild animal eggs are collected and incubated at
a temperature that will force the crocs to become males before being released
and fattened up for harvesting. Why males? They grow bigger and are worth more.
He
visited Indonesia where he joined a snake hunt. Mainly looking for pythons but
he saw a number of other snakes being caught too, including venomous ones. The
hunters admitted there are fewer snakes now and have to travel further to catch
them. He then watched as the hunters slaughtered the animals, by pushing a
metal rod up their nose until they heard a pop, that I assume is the brain
being penetrated. Then their filled with water to expand the skin, hung for a
few hours before being carefully skinned, taking great care in not damaging the
skin.
Back in
the UK he visited a number of designers who didn’t seem at all worried about
how the animals were being treated. One guy had a pair of red boot-trainers in
front of him. He claimed they cost between £10-20K and pointed out the different
skins used in them; python, crocodile, lizard, sting-ray, elephant, yes, even
elephant skin. This moron was actually quite proud of his second hand clothes
he was selling. Another designer showed so little concern about how the animals
are caught and treated, he actually laughed when he was asked about it. His
answer was, ‘Do you worry about how the animal is being treated when you eat
meat?’
It’s time
that more fuss was made on this issue again. In the past animal rights
activists broke into mink farms and released all the animals with little regard
to the damage they would, and did cause to the wider UK wildlife. I wouldn’t advocate
that sort of action again, but why not picket the high end fashion shops which
sell the stuff again? When you see someone wearing a fur garment, ask them if
they are second hand and how much they paid the animal for it?
There are
a lot of current issues here in the UK right now and some people will say they
are more important than action against the fur trade. But are they? Let’s say
that some good fairy comes and waves her magic want and sorts them all out for
us. Yet she doesn’t sort out the fur trade. Eventually all the wild sable,
mink, pythons crocs, elephants, lynx and other big cats can only be seen in a zoo.
What does humanity do then? How much poorer will out world be at that point.
Not so
long ago, all species of whales were on the verge of collapse. The civilised
world took a deep breath and stood back from it. I said ‘civilised’ because
there are some nations, notably Japan, who give an aura of being civilised,
still continue to hunt whales. And don’t forget their annual dolphin hunt where
the animals are herded together in a bay and slaughtered by the hundreds, maybe
even by the thousands.
Bears are
in decline yet in China there are bear farms where the animals are used to
collect their bile for us in Chinese medicine; that’s where rhino horn goes
too. Ivory from elephants usually makes its way to China. What will turn their sights
on when all the rhinos and elephants have gone? Have you ever tried shark fin
soup? I haven’t, not will I; why?
This is
what is left of the shark after the fins are taken ...
Yes, I have eaten shark and
although it was OKish, I wasn’t overly impressed with it. But at least the
whole fish was being used then. Now the numbers of sharks are falling, mostly
to feed the soup makers.
Do I
sound angry over all of this? I hope so, because I am! There is nothing more
thrilling as seeing a wild animal when you are out and about. Jan gets excited
when she sees hares and rabbits; we both get excited when see deer or a fox.
The sight of a weasel or a stoat running across the path or road in front of
us. And don’t forget the birds we both love so much. OK, we don’t go off
birding as often as we used to be still have them out the back here. Not many
people will think about them, and of these I have mentioned, and yet they will
ask why it is so quiet when there’s no more bird song and they only time they
see a rabbit is on an Easter card. What will we tell them then?
So many
animals at risk of going extinct, and yet the greedy rich just don’t care about
that, just as long as they can have the next big think in fashion! These morons
must be made to see the problems they are causing. But how do we do that unless
we challenge them? Who’s up for it then?
I shall
end this blog here, no photo after the ones I’ve already added, and no funny
today, this issue is far too serious to jokes flying around.
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