Back in 1964, a Canadian sealer was paid by filmmakers to skin a live seal with a knife. Activists instantly jumped on the bandwagon. The film sparked the first anti-seal hunt campaigns, with no one attempting to get facts right. The whole episode had been staged. It was fake news.
Only a few years later the hunter, Gustave Poirier, admitted under oath to a Canadian Parliamentary committee of enquiry that he had been paid by the film-makers to skin the live seal and that he would have never done that otherwise.
The facts never came to light. And so the myth about skinning animals alive was born.
Since then animal rights activists only became more and more extravagant, claiming and no doubt sincerely believing that mink and other species are also treated inhumanely, including being beaten and being skinned alive.
So let’s make something very clear- animals are not skinned alive for their fur.
Despite PETA’s, HSUS and other animal rights groups’ best efforts to protect innocent animals from torture, they base their campaigns on myths.
- Farming is not just a job- it’s a lifestyle. Skinning animals alive would be completely inhumane.
We’ve all heard the old lie that animals are widely abused on fur-farms. This statement is false. Most farmers take great pride in what they do, they take good care of animals and treat them with respect. At the end of the day, fur farming is something their livelihood depends on, and the only way to produce high quality skins is by providing farm animals with excellent nutrition and care.
People work on fur farms for generations- seven days a week, 52 weeks a year. They are committed to these animals and would certainly never want to see them suffer.
- Health and Safety first. Farmers do not put themselves in danger.
With all their respect for animals, farmers are obliged to follow certain health and safety guidelines. It’s their job to minimise a risk of infection or disease transmission. A live and conscious animal will move, putting the farmer at risk of being bitten, scratched or cut with his own knife. No one would ever want to intentionally expose themselves to such risks by skinning an animal alive.
- Time is money. Skinning an animal alive would take longer and be less efficient.
Farming is a business and like most businesses, it’s important to be efficient and meet the deadlines. It’s not only dangerous to skin an animal alive, but it would also take much more time, considering how difficult it would be.
Clearly, it is much faster to skin an animal after it’s been euthanised. The fur market is very competitive, so it’s also vital to provide high quality fur. Therefore skinning of a mink or other fur animal must be done very carefully, to avoid nicks and other damage that would lower the value of the fur.
So, once again, why would anyone skin a live animal?
- Perfection is the key. Skinning an animal alive would spoil the fur.
Animal Rights activists should understand that skinning animals alive would work against the farmer’s financial interest.
No need to mention how competitive today’s international fur market is. The amounts you earn for your fur is largely determined by a number of factors including pelt size, fur quality and color. There is clearly no room for the damage which would occur should someone try to skin an animal alive.
- It’s illegal.
In Europe, North America, and most other regions it is illegal to cause unnecessary suffering to an animal.
Skinning an animal alive is not only inhumane, immoral and unnecessary – it’s clearly illegal.
But what about that “skinning alive” video?
Combined with the facts outlined above, the only reasonable conclusion is that the cruel actions shown in this video were staged for the camera. There is as yet no verifiable information surrounding the specific conditions of how this video was shot.
The AR group responsible failed to disclose any details when approached. Perhaps that’s something we should ask them about one more time.
*Original source : Truth About Fur
