Fur is Beautiful—On Its Original Owner, That Is!

fox

Lots of animals have fur—from shaggy yaks and short-haired pointers to striped tigers and spotted hyenas. And depending on where the animal lives, her coat will have special features to help keep her warm and dry. Animals who spend a lot of time in the water—like minks and otters, for example—have waterproof fur. And snow leopards and foxes wrap their super-thick furry tails around their bodies to keep cozy.

As you can see, a fur coat is pretty cool—for an animal to wear, that is. What's not cool is when a person wears one. Can you believe that 18 red foxes are killed just to produce one fur coat? Would you want to wear a mink coat knowing that 55 animals had to die to make it?

The animals who are used to make fur coats are raised on fur farms or caught in traps in the wild. Either way, a lot of pain is involved. Minks, foxes, rabbits and raccoons on fur farms spend their whole lives in cramped cages. They can't move freely and get very stressed out. It is sometimes so hot in the summer that they get sick.

In the wild, animals who are killed for their fur, such as beavers, lynx, bobcats and otters, are caught in painful traps. Sometimes dogs and cats who are allowed to roam outdoors are caught by mistake.

What can you do to let people know that animals need their fur and shouldn't be killed to make coats? Lots!

  • Tell your friends, classmates and family not to buy or wear fur. Some coats and jackets have fur trim, so be careful to check the label. If it's fake, that's great. If not, don't buy it!
      
  • Wear a NO FUR button on your coat so everyone will know you're compassionate and love all animals.
      
  • Put NO FUR stickers on your note books, backpack, binders—anywhere to show you care. You can get creative and make your own using plain white adhesive stickers.
      
  • Learn all you can about the animals who are used to make fur coats. You can do a project at school about them. The idea is that if people know more about these animals and how they live in the wild, they'll learn to appreciate and care about them—and then won't want to hurt them.