Letter: Don’t support barbaric violence of ‘fur ranches’

Monday, Dec. 22, 2003 | 9:31 a.m.

Upon hearing the word "fur ranches," most people probably imagine a scene of green hills, red barns and contented animals lazing in the sun. But the life and death on a fur farm is anything but idyllic for the foxes, mink and other animals imprisoned there.

Animal advocates have had tremendous success in educating the public about the horrors involved in the trapping of wild animals for the fur off their backs. Graphic images of foxes and other mammals desperately fighting to free themselves from the steel jaws of traps are indelibly etched on many people's minds. Few would deny the cruelty and pain these barbaric devices inflict on innocent animals.

On "fur farms," animals such as foxes, mink and sables spend their entire lives in barren, small cages stacked on top of one another. They have nothing beneath their feet but wire mesh and in many cases the animals are forced to share their tiny cages.

A mink who, in the wild, would forage and roam for miles might spend her days frantically pacing her cage, stopping only to bite repeatedly at her own tail. If life there is cruel, death is equally so. After their daily suffering, animals are killed and skinned for their pelts. Killing methods are cheap, crude and performed in such a way so as not to damage the animal's fur. There is no such thing as humane euthanasia on a fur farm.

Please do not buy a fur coat or items with fur trim. There is enough violence in our world without supporting this type that is totally unnecessary.

LINDA FASO