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Fox Tails and "Recycled Fur"

12K views 19 replies 17 participants last post by  Go Vegan 
#1 ·
I think that animal rights activists agree that fur is a horrible industry and that no one should be wearing it. Fox tails are a new trend where people clip real fox tails onto a belt loop for fashion. It ugly, but people think it looks good.

The thing is, as of yet, there is no real independent industry for it. Fox tails are largely taken as a waste product of other fur products like coats. So it's been called "recycled fur" by those who sell the tails. Without these fox tails as fashion, they would just be fox tails as garbage. It's analogous to veal from the dairy industry. There's no real production if the dairy industry goes away.

Now, I got all of this out of my friend, a taxidermist (she takes roadkill that she finds around town) and crafter at conventions. After discussing various animal rights issues with her, she now makes all of her other fur crafts (she's into clothes and costuming) out of fake fur, but still sells these as "they would be thrown out anyway".

She is not a bad person. She's shown me that by taking steps to make her business more animal friendly. I just need the right arguments to make her see this is wrong regardless of the source of the fur. She's very good at sewing and would be able to make wonderful fakes could I convince her that the real thing is just wrong.

Ideas to start the discussion:
-Creating a large enough demand for a relatively cheap fur product will encourage businesses to kill only for the tails.
-Fake furs will bring in a vegan market and keep most of the old one.
 
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#2 ·
The biggest issue I see is that even "recycled" or vintage fur promotes the idea that fur is fashionable, hence creating more of a demand for those products. It would be wonderful if animal-conscious people could create animal-friendly trends, rather than trying to make cruel trends more palatable.
 
#4 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by whisper View Post

Those tails don't need to be thrown out. They can be donated to animal rescues who use them for the baby animals they care for, so they are hardly garbage. The fact that people are buying them and that the fur industry is making money off of them, shows that they aren't exactly a waste product.
Exactly.

There are many other uses for something like that. You just have to seek them out. Fashion is hardly the only use for fox tails. And a fashion accessory can hardly be called a "use" for something since it really is purely aesthetic and has no function.

Just off the top of my head I can think of these other "uses":
- for use as part of a humane education demonstration
- for use as part of an anti-fur protest
- composted and used as fertilizer
- a dog or cat toy
- biofuel

Although, really let's get serious here. There needn't be any "use" for the tail of a dead fox. It really is OK to just bury it or otherwise dispose of it. That's what would happen if the foxes died in nature. And if we were talking about the tails of another canine, dogs, who had been euthanized at the shelter, there probably wouldn't be any argument. Who would argue we ought to wear the tails of dead dogs on our belts? Who would say that it's OK to wear their tails as accessories merely because disposing of the tails is "wasteful." No, the respectful thing to do - to honor the animal - is to bury the tail or creamate it.
 
#5 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by ElaineV View Post

Exactly.

There are many other uses for something like that. You just have to seek them out. Fashion is hardly the only use for fox tails. And a fashion accessory can hardly be called a "use" for something since it really is purely aesthetic and has no function.

Just off the top of my head I can think of these other "uses":
- for use as part of a humane education demonstration
- for use as part of an anti-fur protest
- composted and used as fertilizer
- a dog or cat toy
- biofuel

Although, really let's get serious here. There needn't be any "use" for the tail of a dead fox. It really is OK to just bury it or otherwise dispose of it. That's what would happen if the foxes died in nature. And if we were talking about the tails of another canine, dogs, who had been euthanized at the shelter, there probably wouldn't be any argument. Who would argue we ought to wear the tails of dead dogs on our belts? Who would say that it's OK to wear their tails as accessories merely because disposing of the tails is "wasteful." No, the respectful thing to do - to honor the animal - is to bury the tail or creamate it.
You have a good point. If my dog died tomorow i would not wear her tail as a fasion piece. Thats sick. And im sure most people would agree they wouldnt sear there pets tails. So why a wild animals tail? Thats why i weeded out all the leather from my wardrobe. I wouldnt wear my dogs skin. I most certainly would NEVER be caught wearing fur either. Agian for the same reason.
 
#6 ·
I do agree that wearing trendy tails makes it much more likely that animals will indeed be killed just for their tails - and that's appalling. But I'm not so sure that promoting fake fur tails as a fashion statement is going to create a big vegan demand. I honestly feel creepy just wearing animal prints, so I don't think I'll go for the fake tails.
 
#9 ·
When I was working the Renaissance fest here I was told those tails signified being a prostitute in the past. I have no idea how true that is though.
 
#11 ·
Thank you so much guys. This girl is very into preserving as much nature as she can, and the idea that she is taking waste that could be used by ecosystems would really make her think. I'm really happy that I have this forum to help me out. I'm slowly exposing her to more and more animal-friendly ideas. She's not resisting them, she was just never exposed to them. I think that by the time our college careers are through, we may have a very valuable activist for animal rights.

Anyway, I will present this information to her when I see her next. =]
 
#14 ·
I know I'm treading in vegan territory and most vegans hate my guts, but... In all honesty I recently bought a fox tail (at said renaissance fair) and had it clipped to my back pack. I myself am having a rodent issue in my home and I'm not about to use fox urine to ward off these non-rent-paying tenants. Currently the fox tail is hanging on the knob of my closet door. I was hoping that since I can't have animals such as cats or dogs in my house to get the sent of a predator the fox tail would work in a similar way and scare the living hell out of and put the fear of God into these mice. I don't really have much of a problem with furs and I love my new fox tail. I've introduced it to my younger cousins as well as other small children to teach them about foxes, predators and how they affect other forms of wild life. I also teach them how to be gentle and how they should pet and greet other pets that they may encounter in the future. To me the problem isn't hunting animals, the native Americans have been doing it for centuries the problem is how you do it. I feel that there has to be some sort of moderation so that it doesn't mess with the balance of nature. I value all forms of life and I believe that the hunt should be a sacred thing. Wearing these furs does not make it any less sacred. You appreciate the sacrifices made and thank the animal and it's creator. In some instances hunting is necessary to the environment. An overpopulation of spiders for instance could ruin everything if all the mosquitos or other flying insects were eaten up. The spiders would eventually starve to death and there would be less food for birds and less birds mean less raccoons, foxes, and so on. I believe it is right, all in moderation and done humanely as possible. So I wouldn't go and by another fox tail next year because as everyone else is saying the demand would increase and that would throw the whole moderation idea out the window.
 
#16 ·
Yeah, I have to wonder how that fox tail was acquired that you got at the renaissance fair. Something tells me the rest of the fox wasn't used to feed a hungry family that otherwise had nothing else to eat, or to cloth someone who didn't have access to any other material to put on their body. The Native Americans who hunted in old times more than likely didn't have shopping malls and second hand stores to get their clothing for warmth.

Also, what do you think about the need for population control of humans and how should we go about this? Should we hunt each other too and thank our creator for their sacrifice to us? Much of the imbalances in nature are due to human intrusion and overpopulation, not because we have prevented hunters from hunting.
 
#19 ·
Would you purchase the severed tail of a cat in hopes of warding off mice? I very seriously doubt that a chemically treated fur pelt could act as a rodent repellent, otherwise stores that sold fur coats, or people who keep a fur coat in their closet would never have rodent problems. In other words, wishful thinking.

And the fox who was killed was probably not killed in hunting at all but was rather bred in a fur mill, which is the factory farming of animals for fur coats. This is the most common and "economical" way to obtain fur pelts today.
 
#20 ·
By selling or wearing fur products you are supporting and condoning the fur industry. This means you are contributing financially to the industry as a whole and therefore are promoting the ongoing mass gassing and electrocution of foxes/ rabbits/ minks etc.
 
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