Rats in Rome
Italian fashionistas were shocked – but we weren’t too surprised: cashmere coats produced in Rome were discovered to contain fur from rats and other animals.
According to Italian news media over one million garments were seized from five Chinese-run firms and 14 Chinese-born suspects were ‘cautioned’ for fraud. Additionally, fake merino lamb, silk and pashmina apparel was seized.
High fur prices lead to poaching concerns
A Montana man is urging his state wildlife officials to consider tightening trapping regulations due to what he claims is a rise in poaching – the newsworthy part? He’s a trapper.
In a Bozeman Daily Chronicle article, Larry Rose – a trapper, taxidermist and fur buyer – outlined schemes used by some trappers to surpass quotas and wiggle past regional lines. He points to increasing pelt prices, driven primarily by Asian markets, for the deceptions.
A Fish and Wildlife Official stated that quotas, set annually by biologists, take into account “occasional poaching.”
Our ‘knee-jerk’ reaction
After ongoing coverage of the snared wolf in Ontario – found and rescued by Paula Tough – one local media outlet threw down the gloves. In the paper’s editorial, the writer (who is nameless) describes APFA as using the incident to gain financially and outlines trapping as a “highly regulated ethical industry.”
The editorial further states that “the loss of a paw from one animal to a snare that may not have been set by a licensed member of our community should not upset it.”
We disagree – and so do the thousands of people who have listened to Paula’s words, the tens of thousands who have read our interview and the millions of animals who are tortured and killed for fashion every year.
A beaver and a lynx walk into a bar…
Ok, they didn’t walk into a bar. But in Maine, an amateur videographer was able to capture footage of a lynx and a beaver hanging out together. Really.
Blog Roll
Defender Radio Episode 118: Special Report (February 3, 2014)
Grisly sight for animal lover in drive-thru (February 6, 2014)
Graphic Images: Photographer describes bear’s beating in own words (February 6, 2014)
Deer caught in snare near Algonquin Park (February 6, 2014)
