Since the ancient history, people have been wearing clothes made from leather and animal fur. One cannot imagine a cave man without a small piece of leather hanging around his waist. Then, it was the only material that they could use for making clothes. However, since the modern ages, leather and fur coats have become the synonyms for wealth and the branding mark for many fashion designers. On the other hand, the planet is facing with the extinction of animal species that are killed only for its fur or skin. Leather and fur coats should be outlawed so that the civilization could preserve the variety of its animal spices.
Killing animals for its meat, skin, and fur have always been something that has been done worldwide, but the increase of human population lead to higher demand of fur and animal skin which is one of the causes for animal extinction. So, what has changed in the last 100 years? The rapid growth of human population leads to bigger demand for everything. The regions such as Atlantic, Africa and Canada have been for a long time beyond the reach for the Western civilization. According to the website Natural and Human Impacts on Wildlife, "Because human populations are growing so fast animals and plants are disappearing 1000 times faster than they have in the past 65 million years." The ban on making clothes from animal skin helps in reducing hunting animals because in this way humans can decrease the pace of animal extinction.
Even though the laws that protect animals and specifically state when and what animals can be hunted exist, there is a lucrative black market where the demand dictates the rules of the game. There are many ways that the hunters use to bypass the law resulting in animal decline. The ladies that have at least one fur coat may ask themselves how many grizzly and polar bears are left on the planet. The public opinion agrees is prepared for such an action. In 2011, West Hollywood banned the fur sale. As cited by Vartan, "West Hollywood (aka WeHo) is the first locality in the U.S. to ban fur — leather is still allowed — and it’s not the first time the progressive-minded city has passed a controversial law or been successful in influencing others."Bearing on mind that these animals have one or two babies, it is difficult to ensure their survival in nature if the ban on hunting animals for "cosmetic purpose" is reached on global level.
Finally, the living conditions in the farm furs where the animals are raised just for the purpose of its fur are inhumane. The animals are kept in closed mall spaces covered in filth and without proper medical care. Their death is painful and usually their life is short. According to LCA (Last Chance for animals), "Another risk to life in captivity includes farmers selectively cross-breeding mink with naturally-occurring mutations, which results in fur colors never seen in nature". This leads to the occurrence of new animal species and border with brutality that animals needs to endure so that they hang around someone’s neck one day. If the fur coats and leather are outlawed, this type of animal farms would no longer be needed.
Animals have been used by man for a long time. We take them for granted and enjoy in their meat, friendship, love, and fur. However, killing and raising animals just for its fur and leather is selfish and morally wrong not matter how desirable it is. At the age when many species are at the verge of extinction, world should agree to ban hunting and razing animals just for the purpose of its fur and skin. We all share this one planer, and if we use animals for almost everything, then we should move backwards one step and change the attitude of the mass culture that fur is an undesirable item in every closet and save animals in this way.
Works cited:
Last Chance for Animals. Fur Facts. n d. Web. 24. November 2014. http://www.lcanimal.org/index.php/campaigns/fur/fur-trade-facts
Nature Works. Natural and Human Impacts of Wildlife 2014. Web. 24. November 2014. http://www.nhptv.org/natureworks/nwep16b.htm
Vartan, Starre. "West Hollywood City Council Bans fur", Mother Nature Network, 21. September 2011. Web. 24. November 2014. http://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/natural- beauty-fashion/stories/west-hollywood-city-council-bans-fur
