By Zipporah Weisberg, Global Action Network
Each year worldwide, over 40 million animals are brutally killed for the fur industry.
Out of the two million animals killed in Canada, approximately half of these animals
are caught in cruel traps, including the leghold traps, conibear traps, snares
and the drowning trap.
These animals are left, often for hours or days, with no food, water or shelter,
in extreme temperatures. One in four animals will chew off their own limbs to
escape, and will go on to die of gangrene or other secondary infections. When
the trapper finally comes to collect the animals, they stomp or beat them to death
to avoid damaging the pelt. For every targeted animal, three to nine "trash"
animals, including cats, dogs, and birds are accidentally caught in the traps.
I recently read a real life account that illustrates the cruelty inherent in
trapping - the story of Cody. Cody was a beautiful little beaver, enjoying her
first winter in her dim, cozy lodge, until she swam out under the water to the
place where her food had been stored and where the trapper had set his trap.
The trap was supposed to drown her quickly and "humanely". It didn't.
Somehow, she managed to clamber out of the water and up on the ice, dragging the
heavy trap with her. It held both of her feet, cut and crushed, while she fought
desperately for her life - no one knows for how long.
Finally, she tore herself free. Panic stricken, she ran, her mangled feet freezing
in the snow. On and on she ran until some merciful snowmobilers found her days
later and took her to Aspen Valley, a wonderful sanctuary in northern Ontario.
Cody fought valiantly for her life, but she did not stand a chance. The breakage
from the trap was compounded by the extent of the frostbite. The flesh began,
quite literally, to fall away from her bones. Caretakers at the sanctuary had
no choice but to end her suffering.
Cody’s story is but one out of one million similar stories of misery
and death that are experienced by the nameless wild animals trapped in Canada
each year. Most of these animals never get the chance to take their final breath
in a warm and peaceful sanctuary, but die a slow agonizing death alone, or in
the company of their murderers.
The other million animals killed for the fur industry in Canada, including
minks, foxes and ferrets, are factory farmed under horrific conditions. They spend
their entire lives cramped in barren wire cages, barely bigger than their own
bodies with little or no protection from the elements and no veterinary care.
Many animals are deliberately exposed to extremely cold weather in order to trigger
the growth of their thick winter coats.
As a result of the unnatural conditions in which they are kept, the majority
of farmed fur animals exhibit stereotypic or psychotic behaviour such as endlessly
pacing back and forth, or repetively moving their heads around in circles. To
save money, the fur industry often feeds the animals carcasses of their own species,
effectively turning them into cannibals. The killing methods which include anal-electrocution,
neck-breaking, and gassing, are inhumane and imprecise, resulting in many animals
being skinned alive.
What most people don’t realize is that the majority of animals killed
in Canada, are killed for FUR TRIM. In fact, 90% of foxes raised on factory farms
are killed for fur trim. Today, many consumers purchase "real" fur thinking
it is artificial. Buyers are confused because fur trim often goes unlabelled and
is used on cheap clothing items. Many consumers believe fur trim consists of "leftovers"
from the production of full-length coats but in reality at least one animal dies
for each piece of fur trim or fur accessory.
Global Action Network and Fur Free Alliance are joining together to give students
around the world an opportunity to use their artistic talent to help expose the
cruelty behind fur trim, in the second annual International "Design Against
Fur" poster design contest. Design Against Fur 2004 is open to all students
enrolled in a recognized design, fashion, art, marketing or advertising course
during the winter of 2003 and the spring of 2004, who would like to design an
innovative anti-fur poster.
Prizes for the winning entries include $1000 for the Canadian winner, $500
for the runner up and $250 for third place. The top three Canadian entries will
automatically be entered into the international competition where they can win
5000 euros (C$7800) and a trip to Paris during Fashion Week for the awards celebration.
In addition, Fur Free Alliance will use the winning entry in an advertising campaign.
Students can find out more about the competition and register online at
www.gan.ca or by calling (514) 939-5525, or by
emailing zipporah@gan.ca . The deadline
for registration is March 1st and the submission deadline is April 30th
2004. An awards ceremony to announce the winners will take place in Toronto in
late May 2004.
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