Killing Nutria for Fur is Eco-Conscious Claims Fashion Designer Cree McCree

Nutria is a rodent. A large, semi-aquatic rodent with a soft pelt that looks like a cross between a beaver and a larger rat. Fashion designers are now using the pelt of this animal while claiming it is the "greener" option. The nutria was introduced to North America and several other places by fur ranchers in the early 19th century. However, the rodent is destructive to the habitat surrounding it, manly wetlands. The government has already started paying people to trap and kill the animal because of its destructive nature and overpopulation. The state of Louisiana pays hunters and trappers $5 per pelt in an effort to control the overpopulation of nutria affecting the swamps and wetland habitats.

Fashion designers have taken to using the pelt of the nutria in their latest fashions because they claim it is the "green", "eco-conscious" and "eco-friendly" thing to do. One fashion designer, Cree McCree, who was among the first to use the fur from the nutria has said of using the animal, "if they're being killed anyway, then why not make something beautiful out of them?"

A few questions arise when fashion designers like McCree make the claims that the process of killing the nutria for it's fur is eco-friendly and filled with eco-conscious. The big one is what happens to the meat from the nutria? Would it be eco-conscious for a hunter to kill a deer, use the meat to feed his family and use the hide to make a blanket or clothing for his kids? Many hunters who do this believe that is just what you are supposed to do. They are not trying to be green or eco-friendly but were taught that you use everything from your kill.

Fashion designers using the pelt of the nutria and claiming a "greener" sense in their fashions are in all essence, liars. They are attempting to use the "eco-friendly" theme to boost sales of the product they put out. Other fashion designers who used minks, fox, sable, rabbit, and other types of furs also claimed that the animal being used was a threat to the environment or needed some type of population control. Still other fashion designers just don't care. Some like to use fur and will do so but they don't claim to be "eco-conscious" about it.

PETA (the people for the ethical treatment of animals) stance remains unclear since no protests of the fashion shows showcasing the animal fur are expected. In early December, Ashley Byrne of PETA told BBC News,"First of all, the nutria shouldn't be slaughtered like this, and secondly that's no excuse for parading around in their fur."