I thought "farming" an animal instead of poachng it from the wild in fact protects it and ensures it's survival?
Without the farms, wouldn't poachers make a comeback?

By Kelly Teo | May 26, 2009 4:08 PM

Every natural fiber mink coat represents 2 tons of food production waste recycled via the carnivores. For info on mink farming, visit www.furcommission.com Support natural fibers and your local farmer!

By U.S. Mink Farmers | May 26, 2009 9:09 PM

Fur is "green". Unlike synthetic materials, it (and all other "natural" fibers including silk) endures, is easily recycled, and does no long term harm to the earth in either the creation or disposal. Conserve: Go fur, go green.

By Pat Body | May 27, 2009 12:23 PM

Lol, fur is not green.

By af | May 27, 2009 2:20 PM

Actually, history has shown that illegal and legal trades thrive together so legal fur trade actually creates a cover behind which poachers operate - once skinned and in the market you can not tell "farmed" from wild-caught.

Moreover fur is far from "green" for example,• Environmentally harmful chemicals including chromium and formaldehyde are use in the processing and tanning of real fur garments to keep them from rotting. And• Fur farms like any other factory farm produce loads of animal waste (manure) that is too intensely concentrated to be neutralized by natural processes and they type of manure produced is inappropriate to for use as fertilizer for food crop

By Natalie | May 27, 2009 4:48 PM

Haha, fur green? :P the mink farms themselves are pretty much as far from "green" one can get... and producing the furs also takes a lot more energy than synthetic material.
so pat body, either you are very naive, uneducated os someone's fooled you big time, or you're being very ironic, and the rest of us just don't get it ;)

By Hanna | May 27, 2009 5:11 PM

Fur is "green", using the catchy liberal term. Its able to reproduce. And trapping legally from the wild is not "Poaching"! Get your terms correct (not PC).

By TLC | May 28, 2009 2:54 AM

I was going to say exactly what Pat just said. Thank you, Pat. You are absolutely right.

Additionally, a lot of food animals convert agricultural waste to edible meat. When they say that it takes so much grain to make a pound of meat, that is the amount that it would take if the animal were fed grain instead of hay, grass, and feed made from the inedible parts of plants that are used to make human food.

By Tom | May 28, 2009 4:24 AM

Killing an animal for fur is plain wrong in today's world!

By Brigitte Scheffer | May 28, 2009 3:00 PM

When an animal is raised for its fur I believe that all the bi-products are also used. So, if a lamb is raised for food, why not make a Shearling Lamb fur garment. The reasoning works for Lamb and for Mink

By h. dittrich | May 28, 2009 4:17 PM

Either fur farming,trapping,hunting or even getting your dinner from the grocery store is a process. Its been around for numerous generations, and is no differant today than 50 or 100 years ago. If you live in the large cities and never know where things come from then I understand the ignorance. I'm sorry you don't know about such things, but thats the real world!

By TLC | May 28, 2009 5:54 PM

Fur is a green renewable resource. The mink farms consume 1000's of tons of byproducts from other industries. Mink farms do create a large amount of "usable" waste. you can tell the differance between wild and farm raised mink, however you have to know what you are looking for, you can't rely on a short news artical, or youtube video. Outlaw mink farming, then cow farming, then pig farming then all farming in general, then you all wonder why your cold and starving.

By mroudy | May 28, 2009 6:43 PM

Animals raised on farms are for the most part used in their entirety. Be it cows, chickens or mink. I do not agree to shut down the Dutch mink farmers.

By Howard | May 28, 2009 8:28 PM

Mink, which are carnivores, eat any "waste" from other industries such as fishing, cattle ranching, chicken farming. They eat expired dairy products, damaged eggs. While we eat sheep and use their fur (sheepskin), any leftovers from that is then fed to mink which produce another layer of products of which the pelt is the most valuable. The mink fat, used in mink oil, is also very valuable. The rest of the carcass is used too. If you're eating a standard diet, the diet of a typical human, the diet of an omnivore, you're already feeding mink.

It's easy to tell a farm-raised mink from a wild mink. Farm-raised get better nutrition so they are larger, they also come in a variety of colors, even spotted, all colors developed over the years so there is no need to dye the pelt to get different colors for the consumer. Here's a good link for info on real, natural fiber, fur clothing: www.furcommission.com/environ/index.html

By Virginia | May 30, 2009 6:31 AM

I think it is so cute when sushi eating greenies wearing Ugg boots complain about animal rights. Petroleum based products can never be green. Natural fibers are green. I think fur is more green than cotton (check out how much pesticides, insecticides and fertilizers are in that green protest shirt you are wearing, tsk, tsk...). Stop blurring green with animal rights--two very different things. Animal welfare--that's another story. HSUS (Humane Society) uses the same method of killing animals that furriers use (check out how much they kill if you are concerned about cute, cuddly animals). If it is humane enough for them...

By Joe | June 1, 2009 7:52 PM

If the mink farms are band are they (EP and Animal activist and please DO NOT call the Animal rghts because they DO NOT now anything about animals and nature, especialy how it deals with over population)ready to stop ALL farming of animals (Cattle, Pork, Lamb; chiken ..... fish; food; and in oder to grow wheat, corn or any food, millions of animal are TOTALLY eliminated to create the proper condetions for growing food)so do we stop existing so that few Guttless politicians who CANNOT stand to a very small minority of bleeding hearts who are misguided and CLAIM to be animal lovers have unrealistic idea how the World turns, and lets work together to make farming as effeciant as possible, and learn to respect what Nature and or The Creator gave us to leave in these world. Also has any of those Politicians or Bleeding hearts have seen how Cows or Chikens or othe Animals are Killed?
I am tired of all the hypocracy of ALL SUPPOSINGLY animal lover. All those who claim to love animals should leave there City comforts and go spend some time in the woods among the animals for some time and see how Nature or other animals treat the old, weakly and seek, by trapping most of that is eliminated and the trapper has invested interest to maintaine the land clean from any pollutants (Plastics, oil by products paint etc.. which CAUSE REAL Harm to nature)so all man kind including the Animal Activists can enjoy the wild.

By george Contaxakis | June 1, 2009 8:29 PM

Please do not close the mink farms. Fur is a renewable resource.
The animal rights people care little for animals only finding a way to get your money and to prove how superior they are too the rest of the world.
Thank you for allowing these comments.
bob evans

By robert evans | June 2, 2009 8:26 PM

This correspondence and the poll have been closed because of concerted efforts by the pro-fur lobby to distort the findings.

By Editor | June 3, 2009 3:21 AM