Who Wears Fur Today?

I have been reading about animal cruelty in all its phases -- research laboratories, confined animal food operations, zoos, circuses, and shelters for the past almost 40 years. It still hurts to read how cruel man is to his fellow animal creatures.

What is the justification for all this cruelty? There is none of course- except perhaps the wrong interpretation of all too many re man's "dignity" as found by Christian readers of Psalm 8:

"O Lord, our Lord,.....What is man that you should be mindful of him....You have made him little less than the angels, and crowned him with glory and honor....Your have given him rule over the works of your hands, putting all things under his feet: All sheep and oxen, yes, and the beasts of the field, The birds of the air, the fishes of the sea......."

I can't imagine angels treating sheep, oxen, the beasts of the field, the

birds of the air, the fishes of the sea the way "exalted" man does. Sometimes I wonder just how inspired the Bible is with passages as this one. If people reading this have justified their cruel treatment of animals, then it certainly does not seem to come from a just and loving God.

Today, after so many, many years of animal right groups like In Defense for Animals- who, in their case, each year in November sponsor protests against the wearing of fur because there still is a demand for them. In this regard, I am glad that I participated in one -albeit small protest before a fur store venue in my city. And I was very happy that Weiss Furs in Cleveland finally closed down as well.

On Care2 today -Abigail Geer clued us onto one of the industrial fur farms in the Monteregie region of Quebec. Of course, we don't have to go to Canada to visit one of these cruel places. They are probably found everywhere and certainly in the United States as well. But this one seems exceptionally cruel, and what even saddens me more is that obviously, Quebec is largely Catholic. However, I am not really surprised. I do not find Catholics generally all that caring and compassionate when it comes to animal suffering. (I am a Catholic.)

Jo-Anne McArthur and the Montreal SPCA highlighted the conditions inside this farm. Here they found animals living inside tiny excrement covered cages, with dirty water, untreated injuries and visible signs of stress and depression. Animals are no different from us. They feel pain and even become depressed in conditions such as this one.

In Quebec alone, about 100,000 animals are raised and killed for their fur EACH YEAR. Even though some in the industry have tried to distance themselves from this terrible place, they can not get away from the fact that ALL fur farms ".......keep animals in cramped cages with metal grates under their feet, no space to exercise, no natural social interaction and no mental stimulation." This is hell on earth for them, and if they could talk, they would tell you that man is their devil.

Despite the evidence of this cruelty and mistreatment of animals on this Quebec fur farm, no sanctions have yet been placed on the owners. Laurent Lessard, the Minister of the Quebec Ministry of Forest, Fauna and Parks, has the legal power to press charges as deemed fit. Sadly, he has not moved in this direction. If you are appalled by this lack of concern, Geer suggests we write a letter to Laurent Lessard asking him to put a stop to this shameful animal cruelty. For more information, visit the Association for the Protection of Fur Bearing Animals where details of where to send the letter will be found.

Yes, our voices will count in the fight against injustice. Let us remember that pain, despair, and psychological distress is part of the daily life of these poor animals being caged for their fur which someone long ago wrote looks better on them then on us.

As Geer observes "There can never be a 'humane" way to do this (fur farms), and we need to put a stop to it." Will you find time in your busy day to do this? Yes, you will, if you really care.