Fur

Flicker by: eye of einstein

Fur is a body hair of any non-human mammal, also known as the pelage.
Fur may consist of short ground hair,
long guard hair, and, in some cases, medium
awn hair. Fur has long served as a source of
clothing for humans, especially in cold
climates. When used in clothing, fur is leather
with the hair retained for its insulating
properties. Modern cultures still wear natural
fiber fur and fur trim and for many the natural
fibers are preferred alternatives to synthetic
clothing from petrochemicals. Animal furs
used in garments and trim can be dyed bright
colors, or shorn down. Common animal
sources for fur clothing and accessories are
fox, rabbit, mink, beavers, ermine, otters,
sable, seals, cats, dogs, coyotes, and
chinchillas. However, the import of seals was
banned and the import, export and sales of
domesticated cat and dog fur was also
banned. Even with these bans more the 40
million animals are killed per
year for their fur. Manufacturing
fur clothing involves obtaining
animals pelts where the hair is
left on the animal’s processed
skin. Fake fur or “faux fur”
designates any synthetic
material the has the feel as real
fur, without any use of animal
products.
Faux fur is not renewable
or biodegradable, and there are
mounting concerns about its
ecological footprint.
Flicker by: Ranger Gord

Fur farming is the practice of breeding or raising certain types of animals for their fur. Fur farming takes place in mainly Denmark,
Finland, Norway, and Holland. However, China has a huge fur industry and is the largest importer and re-exporter of fur in the world.
Today, 85 percent of the fur industry’s pelts come from animals raised on farms. Sixty-four percent of fur farms are in Norther Europe, 11
in North America, and the rest are throughout the world in countries like Argentina and Russia. The most commonly raised animal that is
used for farming is the mink. Mink typically breed in March, and give birth to their litters around May. Farmers vaccinate the young kits
for various diseases and they are harvested in late November and December.