How much do the animals used for fur coats suffer?
Dear Cecil: Does every fur coat you see represent an animal who lived or died miserably? It’s hard to believe they trap coyotes or foxes, for example, and then leave them to die slowly and painfully. I’ve heard that farm-bred animals such as minks are kept in tiny cages until they are killed for their coats. Is this true? — Lauren Giles, Chicago Dear Lauren: I spent a week trying to nail down the facts on this, without spectacular success. Not having the time to make personal inspections, I had to rely on word from the fur industry on the one hand and the animal rights crowd on the other, each of which regards the other as lying scum. But it seemed safe to draw the following conclusions. The broad answers to your questions are that (1) yes, at least some animals die slowly and painfully, although how many, how slowly and how painfully is a matter of debate; and (2) yes, farm-bred minks are kept in small if not tiny cages until killed for their coats. Are they miserable? Some sure are.
