What Not to Wear
By Melissa Neesham
Contrary to what the fur industry would like us to believe, fur is not in fashion. It is not fashionable to wear the skins of baby seals that were viciously clubbed to death or killed with hakapiks in front of their mothers (bullet wounds would reduce the monetary value): Indeed, it is immoral. It could be said then, that Canada -- along with its economic partners in Europe, are in desperate need of an extreme fashion makeover. Seal pelts are outlawed in the United States; however, non-whitecoat seal pelts are still legal in Europe (1). Instead of halting the massacre, Canada has expanded the seal slaughter. The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) reports that 300,000 seals will have been killed by May 15, 2005 (2) .
It is difficult for ethical vegetarians and those who care about animals to comprehend how a person could wear the fur of any animal. Perhaps those who choose to wear fur are ignorant. Consider the following statement of Brigitte Bardot -- who, as it is well-known, has been fighting for 30 years to end the Canadian slaughter (3).
"When I used to wear fur I didn't realise what I was wearing. It was beautiful and I didn't think about it. I didn't think about the suffering, torture and death that were behind it.
The Canadian seal massacre is so horrific it can leave compassionate people feeling stunned and helpless. Yet it is possible to pressurize the Canadian government and demand that it put a stop to the slaughter and its subsidies that create an artificially high price for the pelts, which motivates the hunters. (4)
The following is a link to IFAW’s petition addressed to Canada’s Parliament. If you haven’t already, please take a moment to speak out on behalf of your animal friends (5).
http://www.ifaw.org/ifaw/general/default.aspx?oid=87652
Please write to:
The Right Honourable Paul Martin
Prime Minister
Office of the Prime Minister
80 Wellington Street Ottawa
Ontario Canada K1A 0A2
Fax: 613-941-6900
The Honourable Robert Thibault
Minister of Fisheries and Oceans
House of Commons
Parliament Buildings Ottawa
ON K1A 0A6
Fax: 613-990-7292
Frank McKenna
Office of the Ambassador, Canada
Canadian Embassy
501 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20001
Tel: (202) 682-1740
Fax: (202) 682-7701 or (202) 682-7678
webmaster@canadianembassy.org
Postage from the U.S. to Canada is 60 cents.
Footnotes:
[1] http://www.harpseals.org
[2] http://www.ifaw.org/ifaw/general/default.aspx?oid=17767
[3] http://www.fondationbrigittebardot.fr/site/fbb_a.php?IdPere=&Id=148
[4] http://www.harpseals.org/hunt/pelts.html
[5 ] Addresses and postage information obtained from
http://www.friendsofanimals.org/programs/wildlife/confronting-canadas-spring-hunt.html
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