How can it be defended if it comes up in conversation? My whole goal in educating people about trapping is from a management standpoint. If someone ever asked me about fur farming I honestly wouldn’t know what to say except that it could be a backup for the fur industry if fur became more popular and we needed to set limits on wild caught fur..I don’t fully understand it myself so if anyone can explain it to me, I’d be grateful

I guess I don't view it as being any different than farming anything else? What difference does it make if the end product is being used for food or clothing, as long as it is being utilized? I guess if someone asked me that, I would ask them if they eat beef, chicken or pork? They'd likely reply with something like "Well yes, but you don't HAVE to wear fur, there are plenty of other things you could wear!" to which I'd reply "Well you don't HAVE to eat meat, there are plenty of vegetables and grains in the world."

Clipped this from Google:

Emphasize that fur is a natural, renewable, and biodegradable resource, unlike synthetic "faux fur," which comes from petrochemicals and contributes to plastic pollution.

As stated above there are dozens of other mamal and animal facilities and farming that are managed, raised and processed for human consumption and usage. Fur can be more emotional as the species involved are easier to show as cute and that many who are against fur also feel it is only used by very wealthy people in the world. That has not been the case over time but maybe moreso today than in the past. There is some good news for all consumptive users that the fastest growing regions of the world, Africa, South America and Asia are some of the fastest growing consumers of animal products of all types. Demographics may well be on our side.

Bryce

Historically, over the last century ranch fur has propped up wild fur. Wild fur has ridden the coat tails of ranch fur.

All excellent points thanks for helping me

I've never really been able to honestly with most of the critters they fur farm. One of the main arguments is can you eat them ? Most people seem to be pretty chill if you can eat something but as soon as you tell them " yeah we just raise em in these lil cages , kill em take the fur and chunk the rest , yeaaaahhhhh

I know it is hard for ME to justify so I don’t know how to explain it to others. But I also look at how much we WASTE with other things. How many deer hides end up in a landfill every year??

Honestly when it comes to killing anything if you can't eat the meat or don't eat seems 80% of the people are just done there no other point or deal for them. Also when 80% of people can't actually afford fur clothing it's like " yay one more thing to keep around for rich people"
Donat help a lot of fur clothing is kinda tacky looking imo

In the USSR, fur farms were commonly organized in the "zones of risky agriculture" (northern boreal zone, tundras and remote coastal areas) especially where cheap proteins such as low-value freshwater fish or waste from sea fish processing plants was readily available. It created plenty of jobs in remote settlements, which in turn allowed to cut costs/support local infrastructure in areas where human presence would otherwise be scarce and/or fully subsidized. Very often, fur from such local farms was processed into garments locally, which created more jobs and also satisfied the local demand for available, pretty and warm clothing.

Fur farms were also common in places with lots of cattle, where there was insufficient local infrastructure for processing slaughterhouse waste and by-products into things like bone meal or gelatin, or the logistics was too complicated or unprofitable, so feeding ranch furbearers was a good local way to minimize waste (and again, create jobs). Moreover, carcasses from fur farms used to be processed and fed to pigs (another level of waste minimization/recycling). It all fell apart of course, not because the concept was flawed, but rather because EVERYTHING collapsed in the 90's; about the same time, Greenpeace/PETA agenda peaked and this branch of the ranch fur industry never got a chance to recover.

Some states do not allow the sale of wild game products. Here in NC, we cannot sell a deer hide. They all go into the gut hole. I did have a pie bald hide tanned once.

Holy crap.

^^^And happy Easter too!

How many of the wild furbearers that you trap do you eat?

Totally disagree. A common statement from fur farmers. The industry can only handle so many pelts- farmed or otherwise. Every fur that comes from a farm and is purchased is one less that is sold from the wild. Prices now are improving for, among other things, the fur farm industry pelting out much of their stock and europeans banning it in a lot of countries. If no fur was produced from farms, wild fur would be much more valuable, IMHO.

https://www.kopenhagenfur.com/

https://www.sagafurs.com/sustainability/

Auction houses are true wordsmiths.

I’d justify it like this.
1. Fur farming is done on private land with no guvment assistance, so mind your own business.
Pretty simple really. This ole world would be a much better place if some folks could do this.

I see no difference between fur farming or livestock farming. If you don’t think it’s right to raise animals for fur and trap, hunt ,eat meat, wear leather etc you’re a hypocrite imo.

Holly crap.dang bud

Yep I see no difference whatsoever in raising and killing an animal to turn it into a steak or a Big Mac, or raising and killing an animal to make it into a hat or pair of mittens. In both cases the animal is being raised and killed to provide something for a human, so what's the difference?

AND....it was bred for that.

Keeping animals for pets, or purpose?

4 out of 5 people are stupid…..

Arguments against use of leather and furs are made based on false moral grounds that go against God's plan for humans and animals.

When Adam and Eve found themselves naked in the Garden of Eden the Lord God made coats of skin to cover their nakedness (Gen 3:21).

In the first mention of the creation of man in the image and likeness of God it also mentions giving man dominion over the fishes of the sea, the birds in the air, livestock and every creeping thing on earth. (Gen 1:26). It's a stewardship where we are allowed to use animals for our benefit. We just need to do it in a responsible and humane manner. They were created for our use.

We raise and harvest animals, birds and fish for meat to fuel our bodies. Why would it be ok to kill animals for meat that we use up quickly, and not ok to kill then for their skins that can keep us warm for years?

Just observations from a lot ....and I mean alot of conversations. Same goes for trapping and predator hunting . First thing people ask " are you gonna eat them ?" That's legitimately all most of them care about and past that just don't matter. Heck even from other outdoors people I get it a lot of " well if you ain't gonna eat em why you killing em ?!" You can talk about biodegradable, renewable and all that as much as you want Ibut honestly most people just do not care . Usually some BS about how the Indians used every part of the animal and some self righteous grand standing on their soap box about how they make whatever out of whatever blah blah blah. Same folks I've seen hang a coyote on there fences to scare off the others

And as far as clothing yeah , again I when bring up how great it is for whatever reasonss it'll boil down to " how much is it ? Ok why would I care if I can't even afford it or take care of it properly?" It's either that or they don't really care about the moral whatevers for or against they just want it . Just is what it is .

Fur is actually quite affordable if you consider how many seasons a fur coat lasts and the prices of synthetic analogs of comparable warmth. Not to mention the latter are becoming worse and worse and are not made to last compared to what the same brands offered in the 90's. More importantly, fur garments can be upcycled. A lot of the furriers' work here consists in repairs, upgrading and upcycling rather than making new garments, including complete reassembly of old fur garments into newer more fashionable models. Many garments such as mink coats can be easily fixed and made to look good as new by replacing the worn out parts (sleeves, armpits and collars). I catch a small handful of mink and sell most of them tanned exactly for such repairs. Fur coats where the guard hair is too worn, or beaver and lambskin coats where the fur appears slightly matted, are often remade into fur-in parkas, in which the fur is used as lining, and can serve several more seasons. So you can easily get a total of 20+ seasons out of a single garment, maybe more, plus you can upcycle old fur into throws, pillows (including pillows for pet cats) etc etc. Some people use old fur coats to make winter garments for short-haired dogs so they can enjoy long walks in freezing cold weather.
What I'm describing here is not poverty finance tricks, it's normal practice with fur coats among middle class fashion-conscious ladies.

Your right wolfdog. There is no point in trying to change their mind. Brainwashed by TV most people have lost all ability for reason. I sleep fine at night. Got no problem looking myself in the eye when I shave of a morning. I avoid people who ask, "do you eat them". If I can't avoid them I I don't bring up trapping. I seriously doubt they can convince you it's morally wrong to kill animals for fur anymore than you will convince them there are benefits.

The wild fur numbers don’t come close to the ranch fur production. If the manufacturer can’t get enough product to fill their orders, they’ll move on to something else, not jack the price of their product because it’s rare. Not in all cases, like cat belly coats, but in a few others this’ll hold true.
I’m going to keep my opinion to myself regarding industrial farms, but I still love pork. I see fur farming in the same like as any other livestock.

On a side note, I like visiting zoos, but after seeing wild playgrounds, it’s sad to see them in jail. I thought the wolves in Calgary Zoo were pups. Turns out they were old age adults over 10 years old. Used to roam hundreds or thousands of square miles, now they’re in this bushy jail cell. Same with bear, but elephant not so bad as I’ve never observed them in the wild. Monkeys can live in zoos though. Those crap chuckers can turn any situation into a good time!

Im not a big fan of trying to justify trapping by using population management as the main reason. For the large majority it isnt the reason they trap. Very easy in my opinion to poke a hole in that argument for most trappers. The question is is it ethical to harvest other animals. Thats the ultimate question.