Animal Rights Musings
But then I see the video.
I know the innocent, clueless demeanor is her "thing" but using wild animals in a video? Really?
For all the information out there, there is no excuse to not know what is going on. Reports have come out now that show documented evidence that elephants in captivity - zoos, circuses and other places - live 1/3 as long as elephants in the wild. That's accounting FOR poaching. Why?
I guess it might have something to do with torture and stress. Every facility that harbors elephants uses some form of punishment - bullhooks, electrocution, etc. - as these are the largest land mammals on the planet and it is hard to get them to stand on those little tiny stools or do other unnatural acts without the presence of fear.
And that is what it is all about.
Fear.
When one lives with that sort of stress, the constant threat of violence as well as being taken from their normal and necessary family structures, it is inevitable that it would take it's toll.
How do you think they get those animals to do those things?
Honestly?
I suppose it is just human nature to overlook the background of things, the inner workings and just look at the end result.
It's easier.
Once we know that these huge animals that form complex social hierarchies and relationships that migrate in the wild hundreds of miles are systematically beaten bloody with baton-like clubs with metal hooks on the end until they scream, the fact that they are balancing on two front legs and their trunk doesn't seem all that appealing anymore.
Who wants to see the result of torture?
Because that's what it is.
Animals that are used to moving, being chained in one place for hours, days on end. Sensitive skin ripped by abuse for tricks to show a paying audience. Have you ever heard an elephant scream? It will pull your heart out of your chest. Especially, ESPECIALLY, when it is a baby.
And then we move to the buyer beware portion of our animal awareness diatribe. If you wear fur, leather, sheered wool, or other animal products, then you owe it to the animals to watch what they endure to bring you those products. And if you wear "faux" fur, you need to be very, VERY careful because fur from China and other places is not labeled as being fur. Tests have proven repeatedly that the fur from dogs usually stolen from homes are labeled as faux. There is some loophole that allows any material under a certain percentage of the entire product to be labeled as faux or not labeled at all. Go to "Youtube" and then search "who's skin are you in?". It is a comprehensive look at all the different products that we use.
Did you know that most fur bearing animals are anally electrocuted to maintain the coat?
Did you know that dogs and cats are stolen habitually from homes, shoved into wire cages until they literally cannot move, loaded onto trucks, tossed from the trucks and one by one removed, hung upside down on a crude wire, and while they struggle the knife rips into their skin and is torn from their bodies as they scream. Once it is removed, they are dropped from the wire and tossed into a pile of writhing, living animals until they die an excruciating death of exposure. Can you fathom that sort of inhumanity?
I know we all want to believe that little bunnies are kept in a happy place and are gently euthanized as their little heads are stroked. It is in our nature that we want to believe that the animals that die for us are humanely treated. But it simply is not the case. It is NEVER the case. If you are wearing fur, you are wearing the skin of an animal that was kept in a filthy, tiny wire cage, stacked on top of other cages to the ceiling. It was given water and minimal food and left in an ammonia filled building standing on wire with no exposure to the outdoors. It was cage crazy - circling endlessly, chewing their legs down to the bone out of sheer boredom. It was terrified by the noise, the sound of the people that offer nothing but fear. Day and night, 24/7/365 they are in those cages, in the dark, choking on the smell of excrement and urine, in pain, in fear. Until the end of their miserable lives when they are pulled from their filth by the scruff of their neck and an anal device is inserted and they are electrocuted to death.
That's what your fur coat is. Fear, torture and death.
Watch the video. I know it's hard to watch. But you don't know what you are contributing to when you buy leather, fur, and other animal products. I understand that ignorance is bliss but it's not just the dying. It's the way these animals are treated day in day out that will change your mind. It is the cruelty with which these animals are handled that will break your heart. Sure, we have all seen the baby seals being bashed over the head by the sealer (yeah, that's STILL going on). But what you don't see is the single bash, and then the sinking of the spike into the body of the live two month old pup as the sealer drags the pup across the ice to the pile and leaves it there...suffering....still alive. Seeing that pup desperately trying to drag its little body to safety will make you realize how cruel the entire industry is. Seeing these dogs stuffed into a wire cage like sardines, dogs that look like anyone's pet, some with collars, knowing that they will suffer one of the most horrendous acts of physical violence a man can inflict on an animal. It has to change you.
It has to inform you.
It has to enlighten you to the fact that your idea of the reality is just that - an idea.
It has no basis in fact.
None.
The dog that you brush, pamper, feed and walk, love and nurture has a cousin that is being tortured for trim on a jacket. Or boots. Or gloves. There are so many alternatives out there. Please PLEASE watch the video.
If you can't bring yourself to watch, then stop wearing animal products until you do.
It's the least you can do for the animals that are suffering for fashion.
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