Fashion Victims - The Real Facts about the Fur Industry
Humane Society International continues to be committed to highlighting the cruel and inhumane practices of the fur industry. Each year, more than 8 million animals are trapped in the wild, and 30 million were slaughtered in fur farms to satisfy the growing demand for fur.

With winter approaching, HSI is stepping up its efforts to educate the public about the cruelty of the fur industry. Fur sales are set to rise around the world due to new campaigns by some of the world’s leading designers, fashion magazines and celebrities.

Last year in excess of 30 million animals were slaughtered in fur farms and 8 million more were trapped in the wild to satisfy the growing demand for fur. And this is not the worst – our US office has just completed an 18 month undercover investigation which has exposed one of the dirtiest little secrets of the global fur industry: the brutal and cruel slaughter of dogs and cats for the fur trade, with an estimated annual massacre in excess of 2 million companion animals. And for what? Coats, jackets, trims, hats, gloves, handbags – and even stuffing for children’s toys.

Trapping in the Wild
Wild animals are usually caught in steel-jaw traps, an incredibly cruel and inhumane method which cripples the animals but doesn’t usually kill them.

One in four of these trapped animals escapes by chewing off their legs, only to die a painful death later from gangrene, blood loss or predation. The ones that don’t get away and survive their ordeal end up being bashed to death or suffer the indignity of having someone stand on them to break their necks.

They are also caught in Body-Crushing traps designed to shut with a scissor like action when an animal walks or swims through it. The Snare is the most primitive, indiscriminate and inhumane trap used. They strangle their victims or crush their vital organs, leading to an agonising and often prolonged death.

An then there are the incredible number of companion animals and non-target species accidentally caught up in trappers devices, in one study an average of 10.8 non target animals were trapped for each target animal caught. This would mean for the 8 million wild caught animals trapped and killed for the fur market another 80 million animals die.

Caged Fur – The Inside Story

More than 30 million animals world-wide are raised in cages and killed for their fur annually. Not only are these poor animals killed inhumanely, but they suffer numerous physical and behavioural abnormalities induced by the stress of caging conditions.

Cages leave the animals little room to move around – mink cages are made of wire and measure about two and a half foot by one foot wide and one foot high. Water is provided by an automated system, and food (a mixture of ground up animal remains, including minks) is placed on top of the cage to fall through. Intensive confinement makes natural activities impossible. Cage raised minks commonly suffer obsessive-compulsive stereotype behaviour like pacing, self-mutilation and cannibalism.

The animals are killed just after their first winter coat grows in, at 7 to 10 months of age. The industry euphemism for their final slaughter is the “introduction to unconsciousness’ – but in fact they are either shot, gassed, poisoned, or subjected to electric currents in the anus or mouth. It is an absolute lie that they die painlessly and calmly. They are acutely aware and display unbelievable fear. HSI believes no animal should be subjected to this kind of “life” or death in the name of fashion.

For more information on the fur industry and suggestions on what you can do to stop this inhumane practice, please follow the links below.
Dog & Cat Fur Trade
What You Can Do
Fur Free Fashion Designers
Design Against Fur 2009 Poster Competition

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