OTHER USES FOR ANIMALS
Dogs and cats are killed for their fur in China, the Philippines, and Thailand. China is taking the lead, with an estimated 2 million dogs and cats that are bred, slaughtered then skinned annually to sustain their fur industry. Many of the furs end up in Europe as toys or stuffed animals. Short-haired cats and German shepherd dogs are favourites. Dog fur is often mislabelled as coyote, raccoon, wolf, or any other name that can successfully be used to fool the consumers and customs officials.
The Dog and Cat Protection Act of 2000 forbids bringing in, sending (shipping, transferring), producing, selling ormarketing of any dog or cat fur product.
However, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reserves the right to exempt certain dog and cat fur products because of their minute size and quantity.
Dog and cat fur farms are overcrowded, filthy, disease infested; lack empathy, proper food, water, veterinary medical care, and climate control. Dogs and cats are often kept outside so their fur can grow thicker and longer.
Even the methods of killing are brutal. Dogs are generally killed by strangulation. The instrument of choice is a metallic chord.
Afterwards, the dogs may be stabbed in the groin repeatedly. Then, they're skinned, sometimes while still alive.
Cats are hanged or "drowned" by having water forcefully poured into their mouths. Like the foie gras birds, cats and dogs in the fur industry are unable to defend themselves. The executioner is intent on finishing the job.
Some warehouses containing cat and dog fur can be as large as football fields; they"re full to the rim (the roof).
Humans have literally conquered the animal world. Animals can neither run nor hide from us. We can use them for whatever purposes. Eating, wearing, using by-products, observing, abusing, loving, studying, vivisecting, playing, admiring, worshipping, hating, killing, incarcerating, cooking, vilifying, chasing, hunting, riding, roping, training (for acting or performing unnatural acts), studying, or sporting.
Our brain, thumbs, feet, and bipedal-style walking have enabled us to dominate the animal world.
Because habitat loss is continuous, at this rate most wildlife will be housed in enclosed areas; zoos, reserves, sanctuaries, national parks, or circuses (GOD forbid) sometime in the future.
The animal world is shrinking every single second of every single day. All deforestation destroys creatures" habitats
therein.
The Brazilian rainforest, like other forests especially in Asia and Africa are being erased by large impersonal corporations. Cameroon has lost nearly 90 percent of its original forest.
In the not so distant past, overhunting was the primary culprit responsible for reducing wildlife populations.
Gross habitat destruction causes deaths by starvation, removes home ranges, destroys individual homes, causes wildlife to venture out for food and helps to introduce invasive species. Starving wildlife will raid crops owned by farmers. This is happening in Africa and Asia.
The bear bile farm industry uses Asiatic black bears to literally squeeze every last bear bile drop out of these beautiful creatures (bear bile machines).
A catheter is inserted into the bear's abdomen (without anaesthesia), to drain the much sought after bile.
There are over 7000 "moon bears" in Chinese bear bile farms. There has been a 25 percent decrease in bear bile farming, though. Although the Chinese government stopped issuing new licenses, this industry is still operating. Even if most of the bears are eventually freed, there will still be others suffering immensely round the clock.
Moon bears are locked into place inside a tiny, filthy cage. The moon bear cannot turn around, stand upright, or properly lay down. This results in deformed bones infections, constant pain, and extreme mental stress and agony.
Depending on the farm a moon bear may be placed inside another cage when it's not being drained of bile. Don't be fooled though. The other cage is barely larger than the procedure cage. Some bears spend up to fifteen years caged in a bear bile farm.
Moon bears are drained twice daily. Veterinary care is considered an expensive luxury. As long as the moon bear's bile is extracted, owners are content.
Bear gall bladders can sell for up to twenty times the price of gold. This kind of enterprise breeds a criminal underground.
Aside from cats and dogs, other animals are also farmed for their fur and leather.
Over 30 million animals are killed in fur farms (fur ranches) around the world every year. In many fur farms the animals spend their lives in cages unable move around or satisfy their basic needs. Stress for the animals and the possibility of contracting diseases are two potential problems in fur farms.
Tiny cages are used to decrease expenditures while making maximum profit. Animals that are naturally free-roaming or water-bound must stay put.
Genuine fur is biodegradable and more eco friendly than faux fur though. Farmed animals that have spent their lives in fur farms may not be able to handle being set free into the wild. They end up dying in large numbers or returning. That's not to say that their cages are nice places to live in. The fur animals have been de-animalized.
It was in 1534 while Jacques Cartier was in the Gulf of St. Lawrence that he took notice of aboriginals holding up beaver robes.
By the end of the 16th century the French were trading in supplies of new and used beaver robes. The incredible demand in Europe helped to sustain the beaver trade. Beaver hats were a specialty item. This incredible demand helped to sustain the fur trade in what was to later become Canada.
Soon, the beaver hats trade spread to Spain and Portugal. The Dutch were also active in the fur trade.
For Canada to form there had to have been animals therein, a prominent fur trade, First Nations expert guides and advisers, English and French settlements and later Allophone settlements. The animals were the first ones to live in the Americas.
The early aboriginal migrants would"ve had to return across the Bering Strait or would"ve died out if there were no animals in the Americas.
Big names involved in fur trading include Medard Chouart des Groseillier, Radisson, Simon Fraser, Pierre-Esprit Radisson, John Jacob Astor, Simon McTavish, and Alexander Mackenzie.
Fur animals, especially the beaver helped mould a viable Canada. Within the animal kingdom no animal in Canada has been as important as the beaver. The beaver has been our most important "unwilling contributor".
New ports and routes were established as a result of the fur trade, including the St. Maurice River, Ottawa River, Saguenay River, and the Ottawa-Gatineau system; to name a few.
The Algonquin, Iroquois, Huron and Cree Nations were actively involved in the fur trade.
The Europeans traded knives, kitchen supplies, alcohol, and needles for fur owned by First Nations peoples. Alcohol was a valuable trade item for all; it was devastating to First Nations peoples.
The fur trade and exploration of new travel routes went hand in hand. A short cut to China was desperately searched for.The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) was the first corporation in North America. The HBC was incorporated in 1670 by royal charter through Prince Rupert.
The HBC acquired enormous land mass only to lose it through Rupert's Land Act of 1868. In effect, the HBC lost its land empire.
The HBC had its beginnings in the lucrative and expanding fur trade. In 1821 the HBC merged with its number one rival, The Northwest Company.
Ivan the Terrible once sent henchmen through Siberia to confiscate countless animal furs. This confiscation eventually led to the conquest of Siberia.
Another lucrative enterprise in the America's was sugar cane in the West Indies. For the French it equalled or perhaps excelled in importance to the fur trade.