Tragedies of the Fur Trading Industry

Twenty and thirty years ago society took an active stand against the act of clubbing baby seals to support the fur trade. However, according to Respect for Animals, a website dedicated to the protection of these animals and stopping the fur trade, more baby seals are being killed now than during the time the protests took place ("The Bloody Facts"). In fact, "in the last four years the Canadian government has allowed 1 ¼ million baby seals to be brutally slaughtered by clubbing and shooting, with the majority of seals killed aged three months or younger" ("The Bloody Facts"). Respect for Animals also cites that "forty-two percent of these seals may have been skinned whilst still conscious" ("The Canadian Seal Hunt").

There are two ways that seals are being killed in the wild during these annual hunts. Early in the hunting season seal cubs are killed using clubs while they sit vulnerably on the surface ice; because they are still very young the seals are unable to survive in the ocean ("The Canadian Seal Hunt"). As the season progresses, fishermen shoot the animals, perched atop moving ice blocks, from boats ("The Canadian Seal Hunt"). The movement of the seals, boats, and ice blocks cause many of the animals to be injured instead of killed; the injured animals typically try to escape the fisherman and either drown or fall prey to other sea life ("The Canadian Seal Hunt").

Seals are not the only animals subject to cruel trapping methods. Major trapping countries include the "United States, Russia, and Canada" ("Trapping"). The most commonly used trapping method the use of steel-jawed leg hold traps. Due to the damage and excruciating pain these traps cause they have "been banned throughout Europe" ("Trapping"). After the animal is trapped, the trapper may use a variety of different methods to kill the animal. Typically the animal is killed in a way that is the least damaging to the fur, which is unfortunately, the most painful to the animal. According to Respect for Animals, in an article entitled "Trapping," "animals are frequently beaten to death or simply stood or stomped on. Drowning is also viewed as an acceptable method of killing a trapped animal ("Trapping").

There are a few different ways a person can take action against the trapping and killing of animals for their fur. The most obvious action is to stop purchasing fur and products that are offered as a result of trapping. Other ways of taking a stand against the fur trading industry are to write you local Congressmen, President, or Prime Minister urging them to take a stand for animal rights.

"The Bloody Facts." (2007). Respect for Animals. Retrieved from, http://www.respectforanimals.co.uk/home.php/facts.

"The Canadian Seal Hunt." (2007). Respect for Animals. Retrieved from, http://www.respectforanimals.co.uk/home.php/facts/more/the_canadian_seal_hunt/."Trapping." (2006). Respect for Animals. Retrieved from, http://www.respectforanimals.co.uk/home.php/facts/more/trapping/.