Multiple animals, forced to share a single tiny cage, are stacked on top of one another. Many are killed by electrocution with metal clamps in their mouth or by anal electrocution that sends a high voltage electrical current through their body. In China, many animals are still alive when the workers hang them up by their hind legs to skin them. Some die by poisonous gas which kills the animals very slowly and painfully. Smaller fur animals are killed by twisting the animal’s neck until it breaks. More than 36 million animals die vulgar deaths on fur farms around the world each year where they are bred and raised for their fur, mostly for clothing and accessories. Today, around 400 designers use fur, compared with only 45 in 1985. The fur industry is worth approximately $500 million dollars a year. As a result of this multi-million dollar industry, millions of animals are being tortured, animals that are on the brink of extinction are being killed, and fur production is dangerous to the environment. Therefore, it is imperative that people stop wearing fur so that the demand for fur decreases and this industry is abolished.
Every year about 50 million animals are violently killed and tortured for their fur. Electrocution, bludgeoning, kicking, strangling with wire hoses, drowning by forcing water down animal throats with a hose, and skinning the animals alive are all ways in which animals are killed. Cages full of animals are tossed 10 feet from the top of trucks to the ground below, shattering the bones of all of the animals inside. Sometimes death is better than the torture that the animals go through. Actress Olivia Munn, exposed “globalization at its worst” in her brand new undercover video expose, which reveals never-before-seen footage of animals being beaten, stomped, genitally electrocuted, and skinned alive on Chinese fur farms. “If we were to do to our pets what they do on fur farms, electrocute them and skin them alive, we’d be charged with a felony crime,” criticizes Munn. “It’s horrendous and it’s disgusting and it shouldn’t be done just because its fashion.”

Man’s best friend? Not in China. Nearly two million cats and hundreds of thousands of dogs are tortured for their fur in China each year. Some still have their collars on when they are slaughtered, meaning they were once much-loved pets. These animals are kept in cramped, filthy wire cages with no regulations to protect them. These cages are packed so tightly that the animals cannot even move. Cats are strangled within their cages while other cats look on, and dogs asphyxiated with metal wires. With no animal welfare considerations, the pelts produced are so cheap that China is now the biggest exporter of fur in the world. The animals are vulnerable to the extremes of freezing cold and withering heat, and sometimes go days without adequate food. It is unjustified for these innocent animals to be treated in such a harsh manner.
No animal is safe from extinction. As the demand for pelts increases, the animal is hunted and trapped to keep up with the demand. If animals are killed faster than they can naturally reproduce, the risk for extinction becomes a reality. In 2005, more than 300,000 harp seals were killed during Canada's commercial seal hunt, which begins in late March and lasts until mid-May. Their numbers have all declined due to the market for seal coats and accessories. These animals are brutally slaughtered and often skinned while conscious. The Northern fur seal has now been listed under the “vulnerable” category, meaning it is endangered and at risk for extinction. All of this bloodshed for a supposedly 'luxury' item. Approximately 30 percent of the fur sold in the U.S. comes from animals trapped in the wild. Traps catch any animal unfortunate enough to stumble upon them. Every year, hundreds of thousands of dogs, cats, birds, and other animals including endangered species are 'accidentally' crippled or killed by traps. Trappers call these animals 'trash kills' and most are simply discarded like garbage. Animals who survive and are released often die later from their injuries.
The fur industry also presents threats to tigers, jaguars, cheetahs, bobcats, lynx, and leopards. Tigers have been hunted for fur bringing them to near extinction. And it wasn’t until 1972 when the United States banned the importation of Jaguar pelts because jaguars were listed on the Endangered Species Act. Human actions, including the fur industry, are causing extinctions. “If we don’t do anything about it, make no mistake – it will hugely affect the world we live in,” insists Adrian Lister a paleontologist. “It would take the biosphere millions of years to recover.”
The Fur Free Alliance contends that fur production also destroys the environment. According to a study, it takes almost three times as much energy to make a coat from trapped animals' pelts, and 40 times as much from ranch-raised furs, than it does to make a fake fur coat. Also the fur from coats is not biodegradable, because of a chemical treatment used on the fur to stop it from rotting. The process of using these chemicals is also dangerous because it can cause water contamination. Each mink skinned by fur farmers produces about 44 pounds of feces. Mink factory farms generate tens of thousands of tons of manure annually. Animal wastes contain high levels of nitrogen and phosphorus which are the most common form of water pollution in the United States.
The fur industry must be stopped. As a result of our consumption of fur, innocent animals are being tortured and killed at alarming rates, animals are becoming dangerously close to extinction, and we are harming our already fragile environment.
Proponents of the fur industry cite a number of rebuttals to the anti-fur movement. Their most compelling one is that we eat animals and hunt animals, why can’t we wear them too? They go on to say that the concern over the cruel treatment of fur animals is based on the false assumption that animals have feelings like humans do. They believe that animals do not suffer in the ways that the anti fur movement believe that they do. According to howstuffworks, recent brain research on animals seems to indicate that a fair number of animals actually do have feelings. We may never know definitely if animals have feeling like humans or not but many argue that the way we treat those that are more vulnerable, is a reflection of our humanity. Kant, the philosopher said, “We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals.” What then does the fur industry say about us?

Other supporters of the fur industry contend that fur is both fashionable and warm. According to a recent poll of fur buyers, their number one reason for buying was warmth. It is true that fur is very warm yet, there are a number of products that are almost equally as warm as fur, such as wool, but that don’t require the death of countless innocent animals. Furthermore, most areas that are populated with luxury fur wearers do not get cold enough to require fur coats. Stella McCartney, a top fashion designer, was most convincing when she said while discussing wearing fur, “For me, it is a principle. I just don't understand why these beautiful creatures have to die for someone's coat. It is both medieval and barbaric, and I think there are plenty of alternatives out there. Comfy? Warm? The very idea leaves me cold.” Faux fur was first introduced in 1929 but it was not until the 1950’s that it became commercially available. Faux fur mirrors the same appearance and feel of real fur, minus the blood on your conscious. Faux fur is also a cheaper alternative to real fur because synthetic fibers are used in its manufacturing. Faux fur also offers the option of dying and brightly coloring the “fur.” Dying is impossible with natural fur because it cannot be colored. Faux fur is a fashionable, cheaper, and certainly kinder alternative.
Overall, producing fur for the luxury needs of certain people, results in the torture of animals, the growing list of endangered species, and hurts our environment. The high demand for fur is what keeps the fur farms operating. To prevent animals from being killed and tortured for fur, fur wearers have to acknowledge what exactly happens on these fur farms and the impact the fur industry has on the environment. As the famous author Alice Walker insists, “The animals of the world exist for their own reasons. They were not made for humans, any more than black people were made for whites or women for men.”