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McCartney vs Fur Trade

Hello People....Did any one watch that programme last night about the cruel fur trade?? I thought it was so shocking, the amount of cruelty that goes on just for the skin of an animal!! As veterinary surgeons i feel that it is our job to ensure the welfare of those who do not have a voice and so would appreciate it if you could check out Heather Mills McCartney's website and take a few moments to sign the petition to help ban the fur trade!!...
Heathers Website:http://www.heathermillsmccartney.com/dogcatfur.php
Online Petition: http://www.heathermillsmccartney.com/petition.php

Thanks a million

:tsr2:

Reply 1

Shockley

I think it's an excellent organisation, and I was really surprised to see how well the petition was doing. I've just added my name to the list.

Reply 2

nina_100

lessthanthree

no. I can't stand the McCartneys and I can't stand the organisations she supports.

How come??? I don't know anything about the organisations so am just curious what they're about and why you dont like them?

Reply 3

cazhorsey

£K22

I think it's an excellent organisation, and I was really surprised to see how well the petition was doing. I've just added my name to the list.

Thanks a million!! it shocked me to see how inhumane the trading was.

Reply 4

cazhorsey

lessthanthree

no. I can't stand the McCartneys and I can't stand the organisations she supports.

She is using her fame to help end a trade that is cruel, inhumane and totally unnecessary. How can you not support that??? The way the fur is obtained is unethical from all veterinary apsects (some animals even being skinned alive whilst others have to watch in terror awaiting the same fate)!! I dont believe either how anyone can say it is just like eating meat and wearing leather because its totally on the other end of the scale. Eating meat and wearing leather etc uses all the animal which is slaughtered in a humane way, inflicting no pain or suffering which is what it deserves, whereas the fur trade involves the brutal killing of an animal just for its fur and scrapping the rest?? I don't see how anyone who is meant to have a role for overseeing animal welfare can agree with the fur trade!! :confused:

Reply 5

Lucyvet2006

I used to sign a lot of petitions (Ban HLS, Ban Live exports, Ban Fox hunting etc) but now I'm a bit older its harder to take an emotive one-sided view on some things. Having said that I can't see any positive side to the fur industry, other than profit obviously. The only reservation I would have is whether a protest will really have any effect? Surely protests and petitions against fur have been active for years yet the fur trade remains. Also, would a ban even be effective or just prevent the industry from being monitered at all? If the fox hunting is any indication, even though there is a ban, people who don't agree with it will still break the law.
I recently went to Russia and someone tried to sell me a mink hat, nearly put it on my head much to my protest but they would think I was crazy for objecting to it, as they can only earn a living by selling what is available to them, and if that's fur then they'd rather animals suffered than their family. I'm not supporting the trade in any way, just saying that I think a petition will only convince those that have the same moral views as the people who sign it, and the people at the head of the fur-trade obviously don't!
Sorry for the ramble...

Reply 6

xxxLucyxxx

cazhorsey

Eating meat and wearing leather etc uses all the animal which is slaughtered in a humane way, inflicting no pain or suffering which is what it deserves, whereas the fur trade involves the brutal killing of an animal just for its fur and scrapping the rest??

Hmmm maybe im not convinced at all. For a start, even if the animal is slaughtered in a humane way it did not necessarily have better welfare conditions than animals in the fur trade as it was growing up, think of battery hens, veal, intensivley raised pigs. Also the live transport of horses across Eurpoe is horrific. And im not convinced the animals are slaughtered humanely, some abattoirs are fine but by no means all...
Im a vegetarian not beacause I dont like the idea of eating animals but I think they should have a good life and be slaughtered in a way that I can be sure is as humane as possible.
I think the fur trade is definitely more inhumane than the meat industry but it is also far easier to condem the fur trade as not wearing fur does not really impact on your life but being told you couldnt wear leather shoes would be an inconvenience!
Im not getting at you by the way, and i do think the fur trade is cruel but the meat industry has its fair share of welfare issues too!

Reply 7

DartsOfPleasure

Exactly, both the meat and fur trade uses animals for the benefit of humans. Pure selfishness and utter cuelty in my eyes. I will be signing the petition

Reply 8

cazhorsey

Thank you to everyone who has been signing it....it can only do good!! :biggrin:

Reply 9

Lush Law

It is cruel. However I feel that the McCartney programme and the whole McCartney campaign [including PETA] is utterly sensationalised. I would imagine that the killing of domestic animals for fur only happens quite small-scale. I dislike the way PETA goes about its campaigns.

Reply 10

outrageous121

Well I think anything which involves suffering of any life should be stopped - whether its small scale or worldwide. Who knows - the petition may do nothing, or, theres a slight chance it might make a difference somewhere! Just sign it!

Reply 11

cazhorsey

i totally agree..thats what we as veterinary surgeons stand for! :biggrin:

Reply 12

nina_100

People only care about things when its forced in there face by petitions like the one above, thats what annoys me!! The suffering that some animals go through goes completly ignored because no-ones given it a second thought! Then the ones that activists demonstrate about, get people saying 'oh i'm against animal testing'... yet they still eat meat and suffering happens to the same extent there!!!

Its not something I like to think about because like <3 said, in an ideal world all animals would have a perfect happy life, the little bunnies would hop around and then bob back for some carrots when they feel like it, but its not an ideal world and suffering will always go on no matter how many petitions we sign. Even in the wild, think what must be going through the antelopes minds as they are torn apart by the lions!! Its a cruel world, i'm not saying I don't wish it wasn't because I do!

Fact is most things are done as humanely as possible, I would like to see more inspectors ensuring that the regulations are carried out so that cruelty doesn't go on. I don't agree with animals suffering what so ever, I just don't like it when people rant on about one aspect of suffering and ignore so many others. It happens it isn't nice, i'd certainly love to see cruelty end, but some of it like animals testing has to be put in perspective.

When I was younger I was completly against anyhting that involved animals beng remotely unhappy, yet I eat meat and didn't want to stop. As i've grown up some what I realise it would be stupid to think that humans wouldn't take advantage of animals to make money etc. Like I said its not nice I still hate the thought of it but I don't see what I can do realistically to change things.

This post is kind of jumbled and not really getting across what I want to say- i'm not for animal cruelty at all I want to emphasise this, but its so wide spread that its hard to stop and people obsess about things that have been publisiced to them and ignore other kinds of suffering.

Reply 13

xxxLucyxxx

I agree with lessthanthree and nina as well, for the main part.
Im not going to give my support to any organisation allied with animal rights extremists, the things thye do to animals (such as setting free the mink in the New Forest as lessthanthree mentioned or the fact that hunt sabs in the past have poisened hounds and put down trip wires for horses) and more importanly to people cannot be condoned. They target anyone involved in what they see as cruelyty even in the most peripharel sense, such as those children or the cleaner of the people who owned that guinea pig farm. Nobody deserves that! Some of the most extreme animal rights activists are basically terrorists.

Yes as vets (or a wannabe vet anyway lol) we should try to prevent animal suffering but in a realistic way. I dont think vets should allie themselves with animal rights extremists when there are better ways of doing things!

Reply 14

Evenstar

Recently my employer has introduced a policy of asking potential employees at interview whether they were against animal testing. This was because we had, well, issues with a person who had rather activist-esque views on the matter. When you work in this industry, it is hard to be objective and do your job properly if you have very strong feelings one way or the other.
It's such an emotive subject and it's not just black and white - you can't just be against 'animal cruelty', because who is going to define 'animal cruelty' - it's far too hazy and subjective, and means different things to different people.

Reply 15

ha_mint

im going to sign the petition because regardless of what tactics organisations have used, i am against pointless cruelty to animals.

but i read your "condensed" :p:

rant, lessthanthree, and it made me think. i think i might want to do some work at a fur factory as well to get to know the industry better and what exactly i'm for and against.

Reply 16

messy

For the main i agree with lessthanthree and seeing as i certainly dont know all the ins and outs of how the trade actually works im not going to condemn something that may not (or may) be half as bad as these extremeists make out. Look at the misconceptions,allegations and general abuse hurled at fox hunters. As i have never been foxhunting personally i have not seen what happens first hand although i have been brought up in an area where it is an accepted and normal activity and as far as i can see other methods of fox control can often be more inhumane even thoughthey are being proposed and supported by animal rights activists as the lesser of the eveils if these 'orrible people must go out an kill cute mr foxy even though he is ruthlessly slaughtering helpless chickens!
Sorry to deviate into foxhunting but i think a ban on the fur trade would just end up like the result of the ban on fox hunting. There are always going to be people who want to wear fur and even more who are happy to wear leather etc and whilst these people still exist the fur trade will carry on - legally or illegally. People will always fins a way to either bypass the law (see fox hunting) or just to supply the black market.
It is the half informed members of the public who can be persuaded that all these cute fluffy animals are being killed in nasty ways and that they can make a difference that often do the most harm by not actually thinking about the wider consequences of what will happen if they do get these petitions signed and noticed as they are supporting a cause about which they invariably know very little. Surely it would be better to actually find out the truth about the trade instead of listening to one extreme view so that they can give an informed opinion. From where i see it lessthanthree as the best idea of actually going to see a furfarm so that at least he knows what goes on! until i have seen the workings of the trade for myself and not just one video of horror stories i will not be signing any petition.
ps sorry for the rambling post/rant!