Mink

Q

QuickSilver

SF VIP
Location
Midwest
ok... so I put this here, because fur can be a really hot button for some.. AND I am an animal rights person too... BUT lately I have been having a hankering to purchase a really nice fur. I want a contemporary style that can go with jeans or dress casual. On the practical side.. there is nothing warmer and if you take care of it properly, nothing lasts longer or stays stylish longer. I remember my Aunt and Grandma always wearing their full length minks out for holidays or to church. So.... now... I'm really torn. I love the look.. particularly of mink.. but of course, these are/were living creatures. However, they are bred for the fur industry. Much like livestock. I don't think I would ever consider a fur that was trapped from the wild. SO... what is your opinion? Yey... neigh.... or neutral?
 

Last summer I was standing on the porch watering the geraniums and I spied a little movement out of the corner of my eye. I stood very still and a few moments later, a little tiny black face popped out from under our porch and within seconds a baby mink, black as ebony was investigating the garden hose that lay coiled across the porch. As I stood and watched, he inspected the hose, the watering can, whatever bug happened by and he paid no mind to me. Absolutely lovely little fellow and only about ten inches long including his tail.

He was likely an offspring of a farmed mink that must have escaped at some point from the fur barns down the road.

Looking it up online to determine how old he might have been, I saw several websites and one of them showed images of minks in filthy cages on fur farms and how they are killed. Brutal, brutal, brutal and no better than leg-hold traps.

My opinion, fur looks great on the original owner and whether bred for the fur industry or trapped in the woods, they suffer, they bleed, they die.

Besides, if women really want the look of fur, maybe we should quit shaving our legs!;)
 
Debby said:
Last summer I was standing on the porch watering the geraniums and I spied a little movement out of the corner of my eye. I stood very still and a few moments later, a little tiny black face popped out from under our porch and within seconds a baby mink, black as ebony was investigating the garden hose that lay coiled across the porch. As I stood and watched, he inspected the hose, the watering can, whatever bug happened by and he paid no mind to me. Absolutely lovely little fellow and only about ten inches long including his tail.

He was likely an offspring of a farmed mink that must have escaped at some point from the fur barns down the road.

Looking it up online to determine how old he might have been, I saw several websites and one of them showed images of minks in filthy cages on fur farms and how they are killed. Brutal, brutal, brutal and no better than leg-hold traps.

My opinion, fur looks great on the original owner and whether bred for the fur industry or trapped in the woods, they suffer, they bleed, they die.

Besides, if women really want the look of fur, maybe we should quit shaving our legs!;)
Click to expand...

That's what I was afraid of..
 
There ARE some really nice high end faux furs out there....

on the other hand.. Cows die a nasty death in slaughter houses.... does anyone here refuse to wear leather footwear or coats... or purses and wallets?
 
QuickSilver said:
There ARE some really nice high end faux furs out there....

on the other hand.. Cows die a nasty death in slaughter houses.... does anyone here refuse to wear leather footwear or coats... or purses and wallets?
Click to expand...


Well, I've got some old leather stuff still hanging around but I don't buy new and for exactly the reason you point out. I don't want to be party to their suffering either.

And what exactly were 'you afraid of'? Afraid of baby minks (they're so cute!!!) or afraid of what your legs will look like if you don't shave them? Could be a conversation starter!
 
Debby said:
Well, I've got some old leather stuff still hanging around but I don't buy new and for exactly the reason you point out. I don't want to be party to their suffering either.

And what exactly were 'you afraid of'? Afraid of baby minks (they're so cute!!!) or afraid of what your legs will look like if you don't shave them? Could be a conversation starter!
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Afraid that my trepidation in purchasing a natural fur would be validated.. yet thinking that it's hypocritical as I have no problem eating meat or wearing fine leather.

As for my legs.... I have no hair on them to shave.. I'm lucky that way.
 
Well sorry to validate, but at least you're making a conscious decision in this regard. Good for you! I know a little mink who would give you a big hug! Okay, a tiny hug but a hug nonetheless!

As for the legs and shaving, well, maybe you'll have to fall back on other conversation starters.
 
There are some great fake furs out there as previously stated.

BUT, The Guards Regiments that guard Buckingham Palace and
the Queen, still use real fur for the "Bearskins", the fur hats that
they wear as they cannot get a fake fur to act the same as the
real thing, I read some time ago.

They are still looking.

full story here

Mike.
 
Well, they can put a man on the moon, they can live on a space station for months at a time and we can communicate around the globe in an instant. I'm sure they'll crack this one too because bears look stupid on 'fops' heads.
 
I wouldn't wear a mink coat, as others say, there are good faux ones available. Yes, we all wear leather in various ways, but the cattle are killed for their meat, and the leather is the by-product, so we don't waste anything that way.
 
I'm not an activist, and I realize that people are going to wear real furs whether I like it or not, that's their right. I personally would not own one, although I admit they are nice looking and feeling.

In our parent's time, a lot of people wore furs. The stoles with the heads still attached used to creep me out as a kid. I don't like leather for clothes either. Yes, I do eat meat and grew up eating it, but honestly, the last couple of decades I've eaten much less than I did when I was young. Watching those documentaries on TV about the slaughterhouses and the inhumane/abusive treatment of those animals makes me very angry and sad.

So, my opinion, get a fake fur, just as nice and you'll feel good inside, where it really counts. :love_heart:

3834720_370.jpg
 
QuickSilver said:
There ARE some really nice high end faux furs out there....

on the other hand.. Cows die a nasty death in slaughter houses.... does anyone here refuse to wear leather footwear or coats... or purses and wallets?
Click to expand...

There's a big difference between a woman's fur coat for enhancing their appearance and eating meat as a food source.
 
rkunsaw said:
I like the look of real fur. As you said it's warmer and lasts longer. Animals are raised for various reasons for humans to use.
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I could agree if we were talking a mountain man trying to stay warm and not having any heavy winter clothes, but when it comes to just a decorative way to dress when we have plenty of alternatives to choose from, I don't. As to the animals we eat, that is a different story. We eat to live and animals and fish make up our diets. We do not squander the left overs in the animals we kill to eat. I also would have to see test results as to it bring warmer or more durable.
 
QS, would you consider the option getting a second hand one? I wonder what happened to all those mink coats people stopped wearing. I used to see racks and racks of them in my neighborhood Goodwill in the 90s. Perhaps they were donated somewhere cold and far away?

Rationale of if it's ok to eat meat then it's ok to wear mink strikes me as confusing because after learning about meat/chicken slaughter and processing practices, I would think people would understand and make conscious choices. Then there is the seal slaughter that takes place every spring in the east coast here, which is dying out, but very disturbing. The seal fur is not wanted here but is exported overseas somewhere, maybe China?
 
Cookie said:
QS, would you consider the option getting a second hand one? I wonder what happened to all those mink coats people stopped wearing. I used to see racks and racks of them in my neighborhood Goodwill in the 90s. Perhaps they were donated somewhere cold and far away?

Rationale of if it's ok to eat meat then it's ok to wear mink strikes me as confusing because after learning about meat/chicken slaughter and processing practices, I would think people would understand and make conscious choices. Then there is the seal slaughter that takes place every spring in the east coast here, which is dying out, but very disturbing. The seal fur is not wanted here but is exported overseas somewhere, maybe China?
Click to expand...

Well just like Rhino horn and tiger bones... those are considered aphrodisiacs in other countries. We can't fix the world.
 
Debby said:
Last summer I was standing on the porch watering the geraniums and I spied a little movement out of the corner of my eye. I stood very still and a few moments later, a little tiny black face popped out from under our porch and within seconds a baby mink, black as ebony was investigating the garden hose that lay coiled across the porch. As I stood and watched, he inspected the hose, the watering can, whatever bug happened by and he paid no mind to me. Absolutely lovely little fellow and only about ten inches long including his tail.

He was likely an offspring of a farmed mink that must have escaped at some point from the fur barns down the road.

Looking it up online to determine how old he might have been, I saw several websites and one of them showed images of minks in filthy cages on fur farms and how they are killed. Brutal, brutal, brutal and no better than leg-hold traps.

My opinion, fur looks great on the original owner and whether bred for the fur industry or trapped in the woods, they suffer, they bleed, they die.

Besides, if women really want the look of fur, maybe we should quit shaving our legs!;)
Click to expand...

AMEN to that Debby:(
 
oakapple said:
I wouldn't wear a mink coat, as others say, there are good faux ones available. Yes, we all wear leather in various ways, but the cattle are killed for their meat, and the leather is the by-product, so we don't waste anything that way.
Click to expand...


A lot of leather does come as a by-product of the meat industry in North America, but believe it or not, India is one of the largest sources of leather. The cattle are bought up and then forced on long marches that are brutal beyond belief to where they are eventually slaughtered. Their tails are broken, chili pepper or tobacco is rubbed into their eyes, anything to get them to get up and keep walking when they collapse from exhaustion and starvation. Then because they've lost so much weight on these marches, they are fed copper sulphate which destroys their kidneys so that they can't pee and then when they arrive at the slaughterhouse they weigh more and are in tortuous agony from a bladder that is stretched way beyond capacity. Remember how you felt ladies if you ever had to go for an ultrasound and couldn't go to the bathroom but you had to sit there? Well imagine if you felt like that and were forced to walk miles with a rope through your nose to keep you in line! Google 'India leather cattle abuse' for more information about where much of the leather in the world market comes from.

Now fur, that is another story of agony and impacts even those who only succumb to that kids jacket with the fur around the hood. I won't put it on here because I'd have to warn you and you wouldn't look at it anyway, but if you were to Google 'China fur farm' you could find a video that shows how they do it in China. Let it suffice to say that the last image on the video I'm thinking of is a small 'raccoon dog' that has been totally skinned, paws cut off with garden clippers and as it's poor raw body is laying there on top of the pile of dead animals, it lifts it's head and looks into the camera and blinks its eyes. I will have that image burned into my brain forever. It is grotesque beyond belief.

So if you must wear something that looks like fur, whether a full length coat or a kids jacket with a fur trimmed hood or whatever, please do not buy something that came off a live animal. Look for that synthetic label and then look again because the real deal might as well be dripping with blood. Their suffering is unimaginable!
 

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