I notice somebody on here was adapting a faux fur coat the other day as a fashion item, etc. but what are your views on "eco fur"? The general idea is that as these creatures population needs to be brought under control, it makes sense to actually use the resulting material you get from them. You can make wool from it, or use the raw fur and hide as is. I am quite interested in this "proper" fur as a practical item to wear in uplands areas, as it performs well in wet conditions, and has good thermal properties far better than synthentic items. It also looks funky and goes with the tribal hill-person image I am after.
Basically - NOOOOO!!!!! Culling animals is an extremely cruel thing to do, yes I know all bout the argument about keeping their populations down blah blah blah, what about our own species?!! Humans are over-populating the world with great speed and have also been the cause of certain animals extinction AND destroyed rainforests and natural habitats. What will happen in the future - "eco-human skin for all your fashion needs"! To kill the poor creature, rip it's fur off and wear it is obscene whether it's culled 'environmentally', non-environmentally, poached or as a result of farming. There's so much more I could say on this matter but my brain won't let me put it into words at the moment!
The "poor creature" is destroying 21 kilotonnes of vegetation a night though, and in the course of this threatening far more rarer species. All this from a creature that was wrongly introduced by man in the first place. What then, is your solution to this problem? The wealthfare of the environment as a whole is far more important than any pain experienced by a creature shot by a gun - I don't think anybody would put the welfare of the locust before that of crops and habitats of the third world.
Quite right! Even the overpopulation of possums has a human source... without colonisation, these animals would never have been able to reach New Zealand in the first place! I love kiwis, though... hm... difficult difficult difficult! The culling of humans does seem vaguely attractive...
Introduction of non native species ... it is ruining the planet. IMO I think if they are going to be killed anyway at least use it. It is hard to pick the lesser of tow evils in this situation.
I don't think it would be obscene to use the fur, after all - it would be a terrible waste just to dispose of the carcasses rather than put them to good use. I guess it's not indifferent to the argument about eating meat. I notice that Lazuli_Blue is a vegan, so I presume she respects that other people do eat meat, and therefore should be able to accept that people also use the leather hide, and to a lesser extent the fur... if you're going to kill an animal at least make every possible use out of it! I would certainly choose this route over say, synthetic materials which involve the use of polymers, and therefore oil, considerable amounts of energy, etc. etc.
We humans worry so much about controllign the animal population that we forget about our own huge population.....
SOOO true.... you know that there is a problem when in 2-3 generations the human population has doubled. This (for me) is also a difficult struggle. I was vegan for nearly 3 years a while back, and I really try to limit my intake of meat currently. I am also strictly against killing an animal for no reason, but at the same time I respect people such as native americans who when killing an animal make full use of the creature. Personnally, I have much more respect for a hunter who brings in a deer or 3 a season to feed his family than someone who raises cattle on a feedlot. I think that population control is going to be a serious problem in situations such as this, and serious planning before the problems get out of control is going to be neccessary to keep other problems from occuring. I think that human population is going to have to be strictly scrutinized (oddly enough, human population in the last 50 years or so has EXPLODED, but the last report I've seen shows that American population is about the same, not sure if it's true though). but back to the original question, as jules said, why not put the material to some use if it's neccessary to control them somehow. SandalScout
good point, but from what I understand many populations are actually decreasing. The United States included.
Interesting there is something similiar going on in Louisiana, USA concerning nutra rats (nutria) The following from http://www.nutria.com : " Nutria, native to South America, is an introduced and invasive semi-aquatic rodent in coastal Louisiana resulting from escapes and possible releases from nutria farms in the 1930s. The decline in fur trapping activity since the mid-1980s has resulted in over population of nutria. Annual surveys have revealed that approximately 80,000 acres of Louisiana coastal wetlands can be impacted at any one point in time. Since the introduction of the Coastwide Nutria Control Program, the estimate of impacted acres has been reduced to 53,475 acres. Nutria herbivory damage is ongoing, and many damaged sites are not likely to recover naturally. Without comprehensive management of nutria herbivory damage, the stability of the Louisiana coastal ecosystem is threatened." "The Coastwide Nutria Control Program consists of an economic incentive payment of $4 per nutria tail delivered by registered participants to collection centers established in coastal Louisiana. The goal of the Program is to encourage the harvest of up to 400,000 nutria annually from coastal Louisiana. This program is funded by Coastal Wetlands Planning Protection and Restoration Act through Louisiana Department of Natural Resources and Natural Resources Conservation Service." I don't see the problem in killing an animal that is not native to an area to preserve life that is native to the area. After all we should try and right our wrongs. I also do not eat meat, but I don't see the problem in killing any animal if you are going to eat the meat, use the pelt/hide, tallow, etc... and even better for you if you get paid for it also. I do have a problem if someone kills an animal merely for profit, but you must own your own actions.
