I’m sure that most people’s answer to this question is something along the lines of “I’d NEVER wear fur. It’s cruelty to animals, and I love animals.
I’m sure that most people’s answer to this question is something along the lines of “I’d NEVER wear fur. It’s cruelty to animals, and I love animals. People who wear fur are evil.” To be honest, if I don’t really consider the implications of saying something like this, it’s the first thing that springs to my mind as well. I have never owned anything made of fur, and I’ve done enough research to know just how cruel the process of making a fur coat is. (Did you know it takes up to 70 minks to make a fur coat?)
However, seeing this question posed to me in a way that forced me to really consider my opinion on the matter, I was forced to conclude that I, along with everybody else who says this, am hypocritical. How many of us eat meat? How many of us own a leather jacket and wear leather shoes? How many of us really check whether or not our makeup is tested on animals? Are we prepared to pay more for our mascara just because it is ethically tested, or are we, as broke students, willing to sacrifice the eyes of a rabbit just so that our own lashes look the part?
I guess that’s what it comes down to. In addition to this, how much research are we willing to do to ensure our products are cruelty free? Some information that the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV) sent me a few years ago confirmed that many of the shops that claim that they do not test their products on animals are lying by omission. When they say that they do not test on animals, they conveniently leave out the part where they commission other people to do so instead. Can we really be bothered looking into something that much when all we want is a quick fix before our next night out?
And if we can’t, if we must admit that we do eat meat, wear leather and use make up that has been dripped into rabbit’s eyes as part of a toxicity test, are we still at liberty to judge those who choose to wear fur? There is no disputing that the wearing of fur is an unnecessary cruelty that the animal kingdom would be better off without, but I can’t bring myself to preach about the immorality of it when I’ve just polished off a chicken and bacon sandwich.
We cannot afford to cherry-pick what we are comfortable with inflicting on animals and what we are not. We are either opposed to animal cruelty, or we are not. That is all that can be said.
What do you think about people wearing fur and animal testing? Have your say in the comments section below, on Facebook or on Twitter.
Photo courtesy of Flickr user …lovemeagan.
