I wrote about the fur industry a few months ago in this blog post, but I’ve recently done some more in-depth research into the Canadian fur industry. Thanks to the Fur Council of Canada, I have learnt a lot about how the fur trade works in Canada, and the impact it has on Canadian business.
Now, I am sure some of my readers don’t like fur. In fact, many people find the idea of wearing fur clothing repulsive. I understand that there are many people who choose not to consume animal products, and if that is your choice, I respect it. But I also feel that the fur industry has a very bad rep, much worse than it deserves. I think organizations like PETA, who have a lot of money and celebrities on side, have disproportionally victimized the fur industry.
Workers in the fur industry. Photo by Claire Beaugrand-Champagne.
I’ve compiled a few statistics about the fur industry in Canada, to help you all understand a bit more about what it is about. Remember that the fur industry in Canada is just that, in Canada, so I’m not telling you about what happens in the fur farming industry in China, or any other country. I think the fur industry in Canada is important, our country was founded on it, and I think it needs to have a stronger voice. So here are a few reasons why we should support, or at least respect, the fur industry in Canada.
- (Ok, I’m starting with one global statistic, to set the tone…) The fur industry represents less than one quarter of 1 percent of animals killed for human consumption. That’s very little. The meat and leather industries represent many, many more animals: some 200 million cows and several BILLION chickens plus millions of pigs, sheep, goats, etc., in North America alone — compared with about 6 million farmed and wild fur animals.) So it is strange that the fur industry seems to get so much criticism, when it is such a small business.
- Even though it is small, the fur industry is a business that accounts for some $800 million dollars a year in Canada (including more than $350 million in exports) . That is money earned by thousands of aboriginal and other trappers living in some of the most remote regions of the country, by fur farming families, living in rural areas where employment opportunities are limited, and by processors and artisans working in small companies and family businesses, almost all of them in companies employing less than 20 people. These are not mega-corporations like meat and dairy, they are individuals who would be out of a job if we were to stop buying fur. Everyone seems to want to buy locally these days, and what is more local than buying a fur coat made from a wild animal caught in Canada, whose fur was prepared in Canada, and that was crafted, by hand, by a Canadian in Canada?
- One third of fur in Canada comes from wild animals. The trapping skills used are regulated from the government, and are as humane as possible. That means that a good percentage of Canadian furs come from animals who have lived happy and free in the wild. (The ultimate in “free-range” and “organic” clothing!)
Beavers are one of the most common animals used for fur in Canada. Photo by Luc Farrell.
- The fur industry helps regulate the populations of wild animals. Beavers and muskrat are the main wild animals caught for fur in Canada, accounting for more than one-half the total. Beavers are animals that can cause a lot of destruction in the wild; due to the way they build their dams and forage for food. Beavers also reproduce very quickly, and when populations become too big, the beavers can seriously damage the environment, putting other wildlife at risk. If it weren’t for the fur industry, that provides an financial incentive for trappers to take a regulated number of beavers every year, the Canadian and provincial governments would have to have the animals culled in order to protect roads, fields, private property and vital wildlife habitat. (By the way, there are just as many beavers in the wild as there were 400 years ago. And no endangered or at risk animals may be killed for fur.)
- The business generated by the fur industry in Canada helps to ensure that the natural habitats where the animals are caught are protected. A lot of the land where the trapping takes place would be more vulnerable to “development” (shopping centres, housing tracts, etc), were it not that the land produces revenue from hunters, trappers and others. If we didn’t have a profitable fur industry, a lot of this natural habitat could be lost to agriculture or other industries.
- Animals farmed for fur are not treated any worse than animals farmed for meat. In fact, in some ways they are better off. Farmed mink need excellent nutrition and care or their fur will not be good enough for the very competitive international market. (Anyone with a dog or cat knows that a sick or unhappy animal has dull, unhealthy fur.) Another advantage is that, because they are not raised to feed humans, they can be euthanized quickly, in the same barn where they are raised. Food animals must be herded into trucks and transported long distances – which is even more stressful that the actual slaughtering. Hopefully I’ll have more to say on this subject when I get the chance to visit a local mink farm, sometime in the next few months.
Muskrat, also frequently used in the fur industry in Canada. Photo by Luc Farrell.
- Fur is biodegradable, long lasting, and handmade. You can’t make a fur coat in a giant production line. Each fur coat is individually handcrafted, using special skills and techniques that have been handed down from generation to generation. A fur coat lasts much longer than a synthetic coat (or most other clothing) and can be recycled to make a new fur coat. After many years of service, fur will eventually biodegrade, unlike petroleum-based synthetic fabrics. (Have you seen the mounds of textile waste we have in landfills? Some synthetic fabrics will take thousands of years to decompose.) And a fur coat lasts a long time. It is rare that a consumer will buy a new fur coat every season. They buy one, which will last a very long time, and it will often get handed down.
- Nothing is wasted. Some people think that it is ok to kill a cow because we eat the meat and use the leather, but the fur industry is no different. In the fur industry, once the fur is taken, the meat of wild fur animals (like beaver and muskrat) is eaten by humans (in fact, they provide food in remote aboriginal communities where store bought food is extremely expensive to import), or returned to the wild to feed other wild animals during the cold months of winter. There are also other by-products, such as mink oil used for skin care products and professional leather care, organic fertilizers, beaver “castors” (scent glands) for use in perfumes, etc…
- It’s a business with a lot of tradition. Canada was founded on the fur industry. The skills are generally passed down from generation to generation, and many communities still depend on the fur industry for food and income. Eliminating this would not only end this important part of our heritage, but also destroy a large number of jobs. And why, since fur is a natural product that is produced sustainably and responsibly?
Fur homewares. I'd love these in front of my fireplace. Photo by Bill Abercrombie.
I’ve always been a big fan of fur, it is warm, beautiful to the touch, and natural. And it is a great relief to learn that the fur industry is far from evil and exploitative. I explained all of the above to my friend Maria, who dislikes fur and rarely eats meat, and she agreed that the above arguments have certainly swayed her perception of the fur industry. But her argument was “I don’t want this to mean that suddenly everyone thinks it is ok to cage animals in horrible conditions and kill them for their pelts.” I agree with her completely, and I believe that the approach consumers take to the fur industry needs to be the same as the approach they take to buying meat, chocolate, coffee, etc… I won’t buy a battery chicken, I’ll only buy fairtrade coffee, and I won’t buy fur farmed in countries where there is no regulation or standards for the treatment of animals. But that doesn’t mean I won’t buy any more chicken, coffee or fur; I am simply learning to be smarter about my decisions. I hope some of the above facts will help you to make smarter decisions too.
All images, unless otherwise noted, are courtesy of the Fur Council of Canada.
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