Every year, more than thirty million animals are being killed for their fur worldwide. There are many kinds of animals they use to make those 'beautiful coats' like seals, foxes, minks, wolves, bobcats, lynxes, raccoons, coyotes and others. These days also normal domesticated housecats are being used by some countries. The poor animals spent their entire lives (7-10 months) in very small cages. Mink cages are about two-and-a-half feet long, a foot wide, and a foot high; fox cages are about a foot wider and six inches higher. There is absolutely nothing they can do in their cage they would normally do when they would live in the wild, like swimming, climbing, playing, mating, so they get very frustrated. They will turn to self-mutilation, and cannibalism and all because they suffer from the stress of living in a cage.

Several ways to kill.

There are several ways to kill the animal. All of them are cruel, because they cause stress, pain and an unnecessary death. The so called 'animal friendly ways' the fur farmers use are: gassing, neck breaking, anal electrocution, and injections with poison, but some farmers also like to club the animals to death, to keep the costs as low as possible. Beside that, it's more fun..The U.S. fur industry recommends killing minks with carbon monoxide or carbon dioxide gas. Carbon monoxide gas (CO) is commonly channelled from the exhaust of a truck or tractor engine and piped into an enclosed box containing the minks. The hot unfiltered gas burns the eyes and lungs of the animals, causing a painful death. Some fur producers prefer to kill small fur-bearing animals by twisting the animal’s neck until it breaks (cervical dislocation), on theory that gassing discolours the pelt. A common method of killing foxes is anal electrocution. One electrode is inserted into the anus while the animal bites down on a second electrode; a lethal dose of electricity is then passed through the body. Again, this technique is employed to avoid damaging the pelt.

The real price of fur must be measured in deaths, not dollars. To make 1 fur coat you must kill at least: 55 Wild Minks, 35 Ranch Minks, 40 Sables, 11 Lynx, 18 Red Foxes, 11 Silver Foxes, 100 Chinchillas, 30 Rex Rabbits, 9 Beavers, 30 Muskrats, 15 Bobcats, 25 Skunks, 14 Otters, 125 Ermines.

Regrettably there still are fashiondesigners who use fur in their designs but they are targeted more and more by animal-rights activists. So don't buy clothing from designers that keep the furtrade alive. Because they still design fur-clothing famous people like Naomi Campbell, Catherine Deneuve, Celine Dion, Aretha Franklin, Susan Lucci, Madonna, Joan Rivers, Sharon Stone and so forth will keep wearing them.

Mink farms will be banned in Holland.

Fortunately, the Dutch government has decided (11 June 1999) that mink farms will be banned in Holland. Many thousands of letters and e-mails that were sent to the government, pleeding them to stop this animal abuse, certainly helped. Holland has 200 mink farms, and kills about 2.6 million animals yearly for their fur, making them the second largest fur exporting country in the world. After the ban on using foxes for fur in 1995 and the ban on chinchilla's in 1997, it is now time to stop the torture for the minks. But not immediately. The mink farmers have gotten about ten years to stop, or take their business elsewhere. This means several more years of suffering for these innocent animals. We will have to stop this senseless animal ill-treatment, which is why the animal-liberations continue.

What can you do to help?

• Make others aware of the cruelty of this industrie.
• Organize protest demonstrations, boycotts or other actions against stores who sell fur.
• Don't buy clothing of fashion designers who use fur in there designs. Write or e-mail them that you're not buying anthing of him/her untill he or she stops using animals.