More Smutty Than You: TSR's Hall of Shame

[Skoria_Bay]

I told my husband I didn't really want a fur coat as all I'd do is pet it. So, I have three furry, purry fur coats all very much alive and wonderful and warm. They are my three cats.

[Pescado]

Darqstar, the part about the fur has always been my opinion. What is so important about real fur that you can't wear fake.

The important thing about real fur is that FAKE fur costs a lot of MONEY, whereas REAL fur is simply a byproduct of dinner.

[SoggyFox]

Pes, that's only true for rabbit and leather.  Most fur animals aren't eaten, except by other fur animals.  However, here is a scandal from a few years back.  They were killing cats and dogs and using their fur while claiming it was fake fur.  And alot of people didn't think anything of it.  But they were taking strays and animals from some more corrupt shelters.

I'm of mixed opinion on it.  On one hand, if the animal is going to die, make the death mean something - for example, when I die, I want to find away to be buried under the roots of a tree - no casket, no nothing, just me and the roots.  That way, I go back into the system.  So, if those rabbits are dying to make food, then the fur should be used too.

But fur farms sicken me.  Look it up, but if you have a weak stomach or a kind heart for critters, just trust me, its disgusting. For the same reason, don't look up puppy mills, they run on the same principle.  Cruelty to me is wrong - at that point just trap wild animals, at least then they can have a life before they die.  Oh, but then you can't have all the fancy fur breeds.  *snort* furfoxes are -so- domesticated, wild my ass.  [Yeah, I live in a state where I can't have one as a pet, just as a fur animal in a cage, or kill as a 'pest' animal.  But I could have a pet cow, or a pet chicken or a pet ostrich....or near any other domestic animal....but not a fox.

[Pescado]

Pes, that's only true for rabbit and leather.

That's not true. There are also bears, deer, possums, and meeses, to name a few.

[Scurvy Cat]

One that gets to me is the "exploitation of sheep for wool."  FIrst of all you don't have to kill the animal to get the fleece.  And the animal feels a lot better when the fleece comes off.  NOw the poor underpaid sods who make the garments out of the wool--them I feel for.


OTOH, I am amused by the fuss about the new 'unnatural' breeds of self shearing sheep.  Originally all sheep shed their fleece.  Some heirloom breeds like Shetlands still do, and I'm assuming they're the ones beng incorporated into newer breeds.

[SoggyFox]

But Pes, those aren't fur bearing, those are leather bearing, 'cept for possum, and who'd want a possum fur coat?  Their fur isn't all that soft and possums are -stinky-.  When was the last time you saw a deer fur coat?

And I have no problem with any of those, because they -are- meat animals.  Who eats mink though?  Or fox?

[Kaitlyn]

That's not true. There are also bears, deer, possums, and meeses, to name a few.

Meeses?  Do you mean mice?  So what do you do with them--turn the fur into finger mufflers or something?   

[Darqstar]

Darqstar, the part about the fur has always been my opinion. What is so important about real fur that you can't wear fake.

The important thing about real fur is that FAKE fur costs a lot of MONEY, whereas REAL fur is simply a byproduct of dinner.

Fake fur is pretty cheap.  And again, if you killed it and ate it, or killed it because if you didn't, it would have killed you or your food?  Then you have all the rights in the world to make clothing out of the hide, you earned it.

But I doubt these women running around in a white mink coat killed those mink. 

[SoggyFox]

Well, I have no problem with a rabbit coat, even if someone didn't kill the rabbits themselves - after all, rabbits are raised commercially for food and fur.  And I don't have a problem with antique furs either.  My grandmother has had a fur coat for as long as I can remember.  Its a pratical as well as gorgeous garment - beaver fur, so it slicks off water, and yet its very soft, and whoever made it put a lot of love into making the lay of the fur make a pattern - not some cheap garment like you see today.

And apparently, fake fur is not as cheap as alley cat fur >.< Though now consumers know to look for real fur disquised as fake -and- how to, and now the industry watchdogs know, I think its now a failed practice.

[Darqstar]

Well, I have no problem with a rabbit coat, even if someone didn't kill the rabbits themselves - after all, rabbits are raised commercially for food and fur.  And I don't have a problem with antique furs either.  My grandmother has had a fur coat for as long as I can remember.  Its a pratical as well as gorgeous garment - beaver fur, so it slicks off water, and yet its very soft, and whoever made it put a lot of love into making the lay of the fur make a pattern - not some cheap garment like you see today.

And apparently, fake fur is not as cheap as alley cat fur >.< Though now consumers know to look for real fur disquised as fake -and- how to, and now the industry watchdogs know, I think its now a failed practice.

I'm not too sure how I lie on the issue of  "Raising these animals for fur is okay, but god forbid you use dog or cat fur!"  I would never want to see my cats minus their fur, it looks fantastic on them.  However, is it really fair to say these animals are okay, these are not?

Of course, the solution to me, is if you want a sweater made out of dog or cat, you can always gather the fur and spin it into yarn.  The animal gets to keep its fur, you get a garment that can make folks like me sneeze for hours! 

(yes, I am alergic to dogs and cats.  Yes I own three cats.  You get used to the fur on your own cats.  Whenever we get a new cat, I walk around for about two weeks looking like I'm crying my eyes out, then it goes away.) 

[SoggyFox]

Same here - two people allergic to cats, and when we got our long hair it was fun adjusting.  That's not what bothered me - its that they were lying about it.  Alot of folks buy fake fur for personal reasons, just like some people don't eat meat for personal reasons - now, how would you feel, as a vegetarian, if you found out that tofu burger you ate was ground beef?  Its wrong.

Otherwise, I'm not against it, persay.

[Enne]

That's not true. There are also bears, deer, possums, and meeses, to name a few.

Meeses bit my sisters once twice.

*runs away*

[Darqstar]

Same here - two people allergic to cats, and when we got our long hair it was fun adjusting.  That's not what bothered me - its that they were lying about it.  Alot of folks buy fake fur for personal reasons, just like some people don't eat meat for personal reasons - now, how would you feel, as a vegetarian, if you found out that tofu burger you ate was ground beef?  Its wrong.

Otherwise, I'm not against it, persay.

Oh, I agree that to lie about it was completely wrong.  It's falsely representing something as another thing.  Also, what about people like you and me, who are alergic to animals, or those who have it really bad, where animal hair can trigger asthmatic attacks.  Even if someone has no moral objections to wearing dog/cat/whatever/ animal, they have the right to know that is what they are buying, not some synthetic "fun fur" 

[SoggyFox]

Yupyup - would be funny if some fashion house got sued because their 'fake fur' caused someone a severe reaction.  I don't get hives, I just get sinus allergies, but some people actually are -bad- allergic.

I wish someone in our government would actually smack down the truth in advertising laws - actually enforce them and make the stringent.  Mad Ave gets away with a lot more, than they used to.

[Pescado]

Of course, the solution to me, is if you want a sweater made out of dog or cat, you can always gather the fur and spin it into yarn.  The animal gets to keep its fur, you get a garment that can make folks like me sneeze for hours!

I actually have stuff made out of dog and cat wool. The animals in question are entirely alive.

Fake fur is pretty cheap.  And again, if you killed it and ate it, or killed it because if you didn't, it would have killed you or your food?  Then you have all the rights in the world to make clothing out of the hide, you earned it.

Yeah, but I have no idea where one would get FAKE fur. As far as I know, fur comes from an animal, an animal that is also quite tasty.

But I doubt these women running around in a white mink coat killed those mink.

IIRC, fur minks are domesticated and farmed for fur. Unfortunately, the problem with simply stopping this is that those domestic minks are NOT the same as the wild version, and if you release these domesticated versions into the wild, they will A: Be overpopulated and strip the natural habitat of resources needed to survive, B: Destroy the gene stock of the wild versions through interbreeding, and C: Likely die, as they are domesticated animals are unsuited for survival in the wild.

Furthermore, minks are unsuitable as pets, as they are bitey and aggressive. If all these fur farms were spontaneously closed, there would be a real problem of what to do with the animals.