Have a Heart This Anti-Fur Day

If Valentine’s Day isn’t your vibe, then you’re in luck. Those of you who consider animal activism your love language can take heart in knowing February 14th is also Anti-Fur Day! 

We’ve already talked about the leather and wool industries on this blog. Now, we’re ready to take on fur. 

Are you with us? Accio some vegan butterbeer and find the coziest spot in your common room. It’s time to look into the fur industry and how you can stand up for the animals abused by it.

Let’s start with fur use in the wizarding world.

“The Demiguise is a peaceful herbivorous beast, something like a graceful ape in appearance, with large, black, doleful eyes more often than not hidden by its hair. The whole body is covered with long, fine, silky, silvery hair. Demiguise pelts are highly valued as the hair may be spun into Invisibility Cloaks.” 

• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

In our headcanon, Magizoologist Newt Scamander rescued Dougal the Demiguise from a wizarding world fur farm. When this gentle creature appeared in the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them film, we saw first hand how loving and sensitive he was. 

Namely, we saw how how he took on the task of protecting and caring for the baby Occamies. His commitment and devotion to the Occamies led him to willingly leave Newt’s case’s sanctuary and go into a dangerous new world to fulfill that duty! 

It’s hard for us to swallow the notion that Demiguise pelts are still so crucial in the construction of Invisibility Cloaks. Especially in a world with such fantastical magic. We don’t have any doubts that the wizarding world could conjure up synthetic material for the Invisibility Cloaks. ​

Credit: Warner Bros.

Because of how highly valued Demiguise fur is, Invisibility Cloaks have become a mark of status in the wizarding world. Not just anyone could afford one, and those who do tend to come from money or a privileged background. 

This is a lot like how fur coats have been depicted in the Muggle world. For decades, fur coats were seen as the height of luxury and high fashion. And as such, only the wealthiest Muggles could afford them. And when they could, they wore them with pride. 

​In The Protego Foundation’s eyes, there’s nothing elegant about skinning animals to turn their hair into clothing or accessories for us to wear. 

The harsh truth is that even in 2021, the fur industry is still thriving.

Let’s start by debunking one of the greatest myths perpetuated by the fur industry.

Myth: Fur trim is a by-product. 

Wrong. 100 million animals are killed worldwide for their fur every year. Over half of those 100 million animals are killed explicitly for their fur to be used as trim in jackets and other clothing and accessories. 

The fur industry is ruthless in every way you could imagine, and then some. 

Whether they’re raising animals in factory fur farms or trapping animals in the wild, there’s no question that the fur industry is rampant with cruelty. 

Minks, rabbits, chinchillas, and foxes are the most common animals raised on fur factory farms. But they aren’t the only victims of fur. 

In the wild, animals trapped for their fur include lynxes, raccoons, coyotes, muskrats, bobcats, and pine martens. 

Leghole traps are the most commonly used “tool” to catch these animals. Over 100 countries have banned leghole traps, but the US isn’t one of them. 

When caught in one of these traps, these animals could die from blood loss, starvation, dehydration, exposure, and predation.  If they manage to live, these animals face a violent death at the hands of the human fur trapper when they return. The most common methods of killing are suffocation, strangulation, drowning, or beating. 

The animals raised in factory fur farms don’t have it any better. 85% of the fur used in clothing and accessories comes from these factory farms. 

There are no welfare or legal protection laws for animals raised for fur on factory farms in the US. This means that the US fur industry is entirely self-regulated and that they’re able to abuse and kill these animals without any consequences. ​

This means that these animals are often jam-packed in tight wire battery cages. They’re deprived of food and water and they experience excruciating pain and illnesses. This includes eye infections, parasites, diseases from open wounds, missing limbs, and other injuries from self-mutilation and stress-related behaviors. 

Animals in fur factory farms are subject to violent deaths. These include electrocution, being gassed, having their necks broken, having their throats slit, or being beaten to death. These animals are often killed before they’re one year old. 

It can take up to 100 of these animals to make one fur coat.

Globally, the fur industry is just as cruel. 

Let’s look at China. China is responsible for over half of the world’s fur production. The country faces no penalties for abusing and neglecting animals in their factory fur farms. On top of killing the most common animals raised for their fur, like rabbits and minks, China also kills 2 million cats and dogs. Many of these animals are bludgeoned to death or skinned alive for their fur. ​​

Diseases, viruses, and dangerous pathogens thrive in these filthy and overcrowded fur farms. This was most recently seen in Denmark (Europe’s largest exporter of mink pelts) in November 2020. Dangerous new strains of COVID-19 were found in most of the country’s mink fur farms. The country decided to kill its entire mink factory-farmed population. A total of nearly 17 million minks. 

This mass-killing comes on the heels of the Netherlands (the fourth-largest producer of mink fur) culling their factory-farmed mink population starting in July 2020, with numbers that reached over 1 million. 

​New York City is one of the greatest offenders.

NYC has the dishonor of having the largest retail market for fur in the US. With its 150 fur businesses, NYC alone earns $400 million in revenue from fur alone, every year. 

Soho, New York is also home to a Canada Goose store.

Canada Goose still blatantly uses the fur, feathers, and down of animals in their jackets. Coyote fur is the company’s “pelt” of choice for their classic parka hood trims. 

The company continues to frequent auction houses like Fur Harvesters Auction Inc. in Ontario, Canada, an auction house that handles at least 10,000 coyote pelts a year. 

John Hughes of J and M Furs, a company that buys fur from trappers to auction, says Canada Goose frequents fur auction houses to obtain the fur they use in the jacket trim of their signature $1,000 coats. 

They’ve tried to rebrand themselves as using “responsibly sourced” down and will reportedly shift to “reclaimed” fur by 2022. Although Canada Goose claims they’ll stop buying new coyote fur from trappers starting in 2022, they have no intention of going fur free. The company plans on using “reclaimed” and “recycled” fur by the time that date rolls around. 

​But these words are a smoke shield for the continued violence and cruelty Canada Goose supports to get their fur and feather supplies, all for the sake of fashion.

The fur industry wreaks havoc on the planet and people. 

Fur farms produce a tremendous amount of waste that contaminates the soil, water, and air. In the US alone, millions of pounds of feces are produced every year by mink fur farms. 

These fur farms release a heavy amount of greenhouse gasses, contributing to climate change. Fur farms also seriously harm local animal populations. By trapping wild animals and decimating their populations, the fur industry destroys the environment and local biodiversity.

But that’s not all. Chromium and formaldehyde are the most commonly used chemicals in the tanning, dying, and preserving processes. 

Like the leather industry, the fur industry releases these carcinogenic chemicals into the water, the air, and the ground. This threatens the health of the people living near fur processing plants, the workers, and anyone who handles the fur products. ​

It’s not all bad, though. There are changes on the horizon. 

In 2019, California banned fur manufacturing and selling fur products. It’s the first state in the United States to do so. Other countries are also getting behind the fur free movement. 

Norway, the UK, the Netherlands, and Belgium are among the countries that have banned fur production. Austria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Northern Ireland, Luxembourg, Bosnia, and Slovenia are among the countries that have banned fur farming. And, as of 2017, India has banned all fur imports. 

At the time of this article, 300 brands and retailers have fur free policies.

Some of these include leading high fashion labels like Burberry, Versace, and Chanel. Department stores like Macy’s and Bloomingdales have also stopped using and selling fur in their products. You can find a comprehensive look at what fashion companies and stores have banned fur on the Fur Free Retailer website.

PETA has been advocating for Canada Goose to phase out fur since 2006. The animal rights organization continues to urge the company to go fur free. The Protego Foundation’s Campaign and Outreach Manager, Erika Wilkinson, has been part of PETA’s protests against Canada Goose. 

Wilkinson says animal rights activists will continue to put pressure on the company.

She also says there are ways you could help animals and take action against the fur industry right now. Protests, emails, phone calls, and signing petitions are steps you can take to demand an end to fur. And don’t underestimate the power of education. Learning about alternatives to fur and telling your friends and family why going fur free matters can make a huge difference. 

You could also look into your local state’s laws and see if any activist groups are trying to pass legislation banning or bringing an end to fur use. If California can do it, why not the rest of the US? Why not the entire Muggle world? 

This Anti-Fur Day, pledge to stand for animals and against the fur industry with The Protego Foundation!


Written by Victoria Tomis

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