Fur Back in Fashion?

[Feek]

Doesn't bother me in the slightest, the whole breeding animals for a purpose thing has never worried me at all and I'm certainly not bothered by the thought of animals suffering.

I'm not interested in wearing fur though, but if I lived somewhere which was cold enough that it'd be worthwhile then I'd wear whatever kept me warm, if that happened to be animal fur then yes, I'd wear it.

Makes me a heartless bastard? Sorry, but *shrug*

[phykell]

Originally Posted by Feek

...I'm certainly not bothered by the thought of animals suffering.

What about people?

Do you have any pets?

[Flibster]

Feek has put it so much better than I ever could.

I'd still eat the meat myself though. if someone offered me a fox burger or badger kebab I'd still have to give it a try.

[Feek]

I have no problem with feeling compassion for people but I find it very strange that there are many in this world who appear to care more for animals than they do for their fellow human.

No, I don't have any pets.

[Will]

RE: Foie gras - I know how it's produced, but I don't care, I like it and will continue to buy it.

Although farming purely for fur alone seems daft and unecessary to me, I can't help but be more inclined towards the Feek way of thinking.

[semi-pro waster]

Originally Posted by Feek

Doesn't bother me in the slightest, the whole breeding animals for a purpose thing has never worried me at all and I'm certainly not bothered by the thought of animals suffering.

I'm not interested in wearing fur though, but if I lived somewhere which was cold enough that it'd be worthwhile then I'd wear whatever kept me warm, if that happened to be animal fur then yes, I'd wear it.

Makes me a heartless bastard? Sorry, but *shrug*

Having met you I wouldn't call you a heartless bastard but I don't think that animals should be left to suffer unnecessarily either (and I suspect you don't). Synthetic fabrics have moved on immensely which renders the usefulness of fur rather less than it once was, I'd guess many people still chose it because of historical reasons rather than a full evaluation of the relative merits.

Originally Posted by Feek

I have no problem with feeling compassion for people but I find it very strange that there are many in this world who appear to care more for animals than they do for their fellow human.

No, I don't have any pets.

I don't care more for animals than for humans (although not forgetting that humans are animals too) but sometimes I wonder why I care for my fellow man at all. People are capable of the most inexcusable cruelties towards each other and it seems somehow worse because they could and should know better - if a cat toys with a mouse it doesn't necessarily realise the distress it causes, if someone tortures another person then they should know full and well what that does, if they don't realise that then they shouldn't be let loose with anything more dangerous than a crayon.

At the risk of sounding glib you might feel different if you had a pet, people naturally tend to anthropomorphise them which isn't entirely rational but it is difficult to avoid. Animals have different personalities and characteristics, the more time you spend with them the more you notice it.

[phykell]

Originally Posted by Feek

I have no problem with feeling compassion for people but I find it very strange that there are many in this world who appear to care more for animals than they do for their fellow human..

I find it odd that you can differentiate so absolutely between people and animals. Do you see no parallels between them? Is suffering not the same regardless of species?

Incidentally, for me it's not about caring more for animals than humans. However, in the case of animals, they can't speak for themselves and the world has many people who express the same lack of compassion and concern for their welfare as you do. That's why animal charities exist, to protect them from people like you - no offence

Originally Posted by Feek

No, I don't have any pets.

Did you have any as a kid? I just find it very unusual for someone to express no concern at all for the suffering of sentient creatures.

[Feek]

I'm sure that if I still owned any pets then I'd feel differently about them, but that's because I'd know them and it would be my responsibility to look after them. Last year I was thinking about a mutt and if I'd got one, it would have been looked after and treated properly.

I really don't care about animals that are bred for a purpose though. The thought of battery hens for example doesn't bother me in the slightest, neither does the idea of raising animals for their fur. I really don't care about them. I know full well how they're treated but it just doesn't bother me. Will mentioned Foie gras and I'm the same as him, I know exactly how it's produced but it tastes great and I have no problems with buying it and eating it.

Actually, thinking about this further, I hope fur does come back into fashion. Mrs. Feek has a fur coat which she's had in a wardrobe for years and years that was bought for her by a previous boyfriend and she'd love to sell it for some cash. It's a good one so it'd be worth a good few quid for her.

[phykell]

Originally Posted by Feek

...

I find your lack of empathy for other animals (which we all are), disturbing

[Feek]

Originally Posted by phykell

I find it odd that you can differentiate so absolutely between people and animals. Do you see no parallels between them? Is suffering not the same regardless of species?


Incidentally, for me it's not about caring more for animals than humans. However, in the case of animals, they can't speak for themselves and the world has many people who express the same lack of compassion and concern for their welfare as you do. That's why animal charities exist, to protect them from people like you - no offence


Did you have any as a kid? I just find it very unusual for someone to express no concern at all for the suffering of sentient creatures.

No offence taken. I don't go around worrying sheep or poking hens with sticks, animals don't need protecting from me because I don't go out of my way to cause them distress. It's well known that I shoot, but I don't shoot animals and never have hunted, it has no appeal to me.

We had family pets when I was a kid, they were treated kindly. I just don't give a hoot about animals intensively farmed for a specific purpose and I suspect that the average man on the street is the same.

Drag out all the surveys you like that say different but I'd put money on the fact that if you ask someone what they think about intensive animal rearing and they'd say it's bad purely because that's what they are now 'expected' to say. Survey people with guaranteed anonymity and non biased or leading questions and I think the majority wouldn't give a toss about animal welfare.