*DISTRESSING* *DISTRESSING* Animals skinned alive, hidden camera shows

[MummaBear03]

When undercover investigators made their way onto Chinese fur farms, they found that many animals are still alive and struggling desperately when workers flip them onto their backs or hang them up by their legs or tails to skin them. When workers on these farms begin to cut the skin and fur from an animal's leg, the free limbs kick and writhe. Workers stomp on the necks and heads of animals who struggle too hard to allow a clean cut.

When the fur is finally peeled off over the animals' heads, their naked, bloody bodies are thrown onto a pile of those who have gone before them. Some are still alive, breathing in ragged gasps and blinking slowly. Some of the animals' hearts are still beating five to 10 minutes after they are skinned. One investigator recorded a skinned raccoon dog on the heap of carcasses who had enough strength to lift his bloodied head and stare into the camera.

Before they are skinned alive, animals are pulled from their cages and thrown to the ground; workers bludgeon them with metal rods or slam them on hard surfaces, causing broken bones and convulsions but not always immediate death. Animals watch helplessly as workers make their way down the row.

Undercover investigators from Swiss Animal Protection/EAST International toured fur farms in China's Hebei Province, and it quickly became clear why outsiders are banned from visiting. There are no regulations governing fur farms in China—farmers can house and slaughter animals however they see fit. The investigators found horrors beyond their worst imaginings and concluded, "Conditions on Chinese fur farms make a mockery of the most elementary animal welfare standards. In their lives and their unspeakable deaths, these animals have been denied even the simplest acts of kindness."

On these farms, foxes, minks, rabbits, and other animals pace and shiver in outdoor wire cages, exposed to driving rain, freezing nights, and, at other times, scorching sun. Mother animals, who are driven crazy from rough handling and intense confinement and have nowhere to hide while giving birth, often kill their babies after delivering litters.


Link http://www.peta.org/feat/ChineseFurFarms/index.asp

It then says


The globalization of the fur trade has made it impossible to know where fur products come from. China supplies more than half of the finished fur garments imported for sale in the United States. Even if a fur garment's label says it was made in a European country, the animals were likely raised and slaughtered elsewhere—possibly on an unregulated Chinese fur farm.

The only way to prevent such unimaginable cruelty is never to wear any fur.

[elleandsam]

That breaks my heart and makes me feel ill. And is exactly the reason why I NEVER wear any fur..

[MummaBear03]

I wouldn't wear fur, either, and don't know that anyone up this way (in the topics) would ever wear it, but it just shows where it comes from for those who might choose to wear it, or for those who have been given something made from fur.

[MumNeedsCoffee]

That's absolutely disgusting.
I didn't think anyone bought fur anymore.
These people should come in their next life as a mink on a fur farm.

[Theophania]

Oh God that makes me so sick. The poor things. It sucks as I feel so helpless to help these poor animals??? I wish I could get these bloody fur farmers and skin them alive.. Oh gosh the things I could do to them and not bat an eyelid...
:no:

[MummaBear03]

I signed a petition and apparently when it gets to 500 names it will be looked into, it had nearly 400 when I signed it. Hopefully this comes to an end.

And yes, people do wear fur, they the rich mostly, the likes of Paris Hilton, self-centred, spoilt little brats with too much money and not enough empathy.

[3'llhavetodo]

If it's what I think it is I saw that a few months ago, I watched a bit of it then DH turned it off because I was balling my eyes out.

Horrible horrible :no::barf:

[MummaBear03]

This part got me


One investigator recorded a skinned raccoon dog on the heap of carcasses who had enough strength to lift his bloodied head and stare into the camera.

[Bo0tifuL]

It makes me sick to think people are doing this. I watched 2 seconds of the video and i was shaking. These people that skin them have no heart no brain and no emotions! they need to be hung up and skinned aloved them selves! the way they throw them around and hit them is just disgusting and non human! Sick sick sick people!

[Ana Gram]

:crying::crying:

[melly75]

That just makes me feel so ill :barf:
I couldnt even atch the whole video.

I dont know how these people sleep at night

[bronny-jane]

that is so messed up..

[Lemonhead]

Absolutely disgusting.

I never knew this happened :no: thank you for posting this, now I will make sure I never contribute to this awful industry.

[SassyMummy]

I think wearing fur is acceptable... IF you're a native or something, and skin and animal you eat and use its bones too and whatnot. That sort of thing I find perfectly reasonable and a fairly good environmental choice.

A rich woman wanting a big mink coat... well, that's a whole other story indeed!

That's really quite disgusting.

[MummaBear03]

I think wearing fur is acceptable... IF you're a native or something, and skin and animal you eat and use its bones too and whatnot. That sort of thing I find perfectly reasonable and a fairly good environmental choice.

A rich woman wanting a big mink coat... well, that's a whole other story indeed!

That's really quite disgusting.

Oh definately, completely different and I doubt people who do it for those reasons would allow the animal to suffer like that and totally disregard a living creature in that manner :(

[Myztiks#1Fan]

i dont know what to say apart from it makes me want to cry.

[MummaBear03]

i dont know what to say apart from it makes me want to cry.

It did make me cry. It made me cry in sorrow for the poor defenseless animals that had to go through the torture, it made me cry in anger at the cruel, disgusting, evil humans who could do this and think it's somehow ok, and it made me cry for all the other living beings that will have it happen to them, and are having it happen to them right now as I type this because it can't be stopped overnight and it will keep on happening.

Only humans could be so cruel.

[AM]

OMFG. Thank god I've never ever worn fur. :no:

[bada]

Hmmm don't think I need to watch that :(

Mummabear, ethically speaking, how do you feel about buying second hand fur items? My SIL is also vego and keen on getting some fur shawl or something (forget the fancy name for it). She is against the fur industry, but sees buying second hand fur as ethically sound. I'm not sure though, on one hand I agree on the other I think she is encouraging unethical treatment of animals in the name of fashion ie even though it's second hand, she's still promoting fur by wearing it, kwim?

And how do ppl feel about faux fur in the same regard? :detective:

[AM]

second hand is still supporting the industry for sure. :(

[IndigoJ]

That is so sad :( i didnt watch the video. Things like that make me physically sick and i have nightmares and stuff. Anxiety i think it is?? im not sure what to call it.

I used to have a rabbit fur coat. It was passed down from my mothers great grandma to her grandma to her to me. It was made in Germany in the 1800's. I never wore it, I was too little and it was an heirloom. It was destroyed in our house fire though :(

[baylees mummy]

OMG... I just watched half that video and it honestly nearly made me vomit.. not because the content was gross but from the hurt inside of what they are doing to those poor poor poor animals.. I am still crying now. If i could i would stop it right now... How can they do that to those animals and not think about the pain they are going through... The pain would be unthinkable!! :( Those poor poor things... I will never ever look at a fur coat the same again.. That has damaged me in a way i will never ever forget. Its absolutely disgusting. There has to be more we can do about it surely???? :(

[Myztiks#1Fan]

its really quite sad isnt it. i was reading somewhere else that in norway(pretty sure its there) every year for the boys to officially become men, they go and herd up whales and dolphins and hack at them with a hooked bar i think and all the water is red. the dolphins and whales are left to die as is, just so these apprant boys can become men :barf:

[bada]

second hand is still supporting the industry for sure. :( I've known a few vegans who will buy second hand leather goods, the thinking being that it means the animal's death was not such a waste in that the bi-products were used again and again instead of going to waste. I see that as ethically sound I guess particularly as buying second hand creates no demand for more animals to be killed.

Me, I'm an occasional leather buying/wearing vego. With size 12 feet there just isn't a way around it at times. Rubber thongs don't really cut it at weddings etc. and I've not yet come across a pair of synthetic size 12 ladies shoes.

The fur thing is trickier though because by wearing it I do believe one is promoting it, be it faux or real.

[MummaBear03]

The fur thing is trickier though because by wearing it I do believe one is promoting it, be it faux or real.

I agree, and have bought leather shoes for DD as that's a requirement for her school, they wear black leather shoes except on sport days. I'm also supposed to wear black leather shoes for work but can't afford them lol. I refuse to wear fur or anything that resembles fur even if it's fake. We don't wear belts in this house because they are not necessary, they are just a fashion accessory.

[Ana Gram]

I don't see faux fur as supporting the fur industry at all. I am not sure how that works really. I am still wearing leather boots, simple because I can't afford to replace them but I wouldn't buy second hand leather.

[bada]

Faux fur looks real and so perpetuates the idea that wearing fur is cool, and it makes the selling and wearing of real fur more acceptable and easier to get away with. I've read that much faux fur is actually real anyway.

[MummaBear03]

I don't see faux fur as supporting the fur industry at all. I am not sure how that works really. I am still wearing leather boots, simple because I can't afford to replace them but I wouldn't buy second hand leather.

I guess it depends on how real it looks. If it looks just like a real fur coat, for instance, it could be seen as promoting the look of fur for the purpose of fashion. My father once gave me a coat that looked like it was made from a bear but it really wasn't. It was completely fake. The way it looked, though, meant that you couldn't tell that one apart from a fur coat made from a real bear and I guess it just puts it out there that the look of fur is acceptable. That's how I see it. We really have no need for anything like that up here in NQ and I have no idea why he gave it to me, but now his wife has it and uses it through winter in Victoria.

He sent me a handbag with a tag on it saying it was made from crocodile leather and the farm the crocodile came from :(

I became distressed over that, it was for my birthday and I rang him in tears saying how inappropriate it was. That was his way of having a dig at me, because at the time we were looking at fostering a baby crocodile until it was big enough to go in enclosures. The baby crocs were part of a breeding program. I found it sickening.

[Ana Gram]

Interesting perspective. I don't agree though. I mean mock meat looks real and tastes real, so that could make eating meat acceptable iykwim.

I find nothing wrong with fake fur, as long as it is fake of course. I love leopard print too but not from a leopard. Couldn't it be argued that wearing leopard print promotes using real leopard skin?

Mummabear, you dad is completely insensitive but I think you already knew that lol

[bada]

I don't believe anyone who saw leopard print would assume it is leopard skin. It's just a print and I don't think it is even intended to give the impression that one is wearing actual leopard skin.

Faux fur though, is designed to look like real fur. There's this whole perception attached to fur, like it is a symbol of wealth, and I believe that faux fur is trying to imitate that and so wearing it perpetuates a desire for real fur. Anyway that's my take on it.

[Ana Gram]

As I said, it is an interesting take, I don't agree.

Vegan leather looks like real leather so you could really use the same argument.

[bada]

Yeah I considered the vegan leather argument while writing my last post but I don't believe it is the same as the status symbol that is fur, IMO.

Then there is the whole environmental impact of producing faux fur and pleather, where real fur/pleather wins hands down. It's a lose/lose situation really.

ETA Second hand leather goods weigh up as quite a good option when considering environmental impact of producing pleather and ethical treatment of animals.