Fur
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, Jan/Feb 1995:
Encouraged by rumors of a fur
resurgence that sent pelt prices soaring at
winter auctions a year ago, fur farmers
worldwide bred more foxes than they had
since 1989, producing 3.2 million pelts for
this year’s auction season. Mink production
rose too, though the 22.6 million mink pelts
to be auctioned are still barely half the 1988
volume of 41.8 million. North American fox
production held even, at 60,000 in Canada
and 25,000 in the U.S. Canadian mink pro-
duction dipped from 700,000 to 650,000, but
U.S. mink production rose from 2.5 million to
2.6 million. After the animals were bred,
auction prices fell back to 1993 levels.
The ANIMAL PEOPLE retail fur
price index suggests the average sale price of
a basic mink coat remains at the record low
level of the past two winters. The December
5 edition of Fur World acknowledged “the
lack of demand for mass-appeal classic mink
coats.” Prominent furriers going out of
business before Christmas included McElroy
Furs, of Chicago, which had four stores in
three cities as recently as 1992; Salvator
Trippy, of Seattle, who cited humane con-
cerns among his reasons for quitting after 65
years; and Max Zeller Furs, of Springfield,
Massachusetts, noted for losing a lawsuit he
filed against protesters in 1990.
Garment makers are able to
smuggle fur trim into many cloth garments
because the federal labeling requirement for
fur goods starts at $25 value. Letters asking
that any fur content be identified may be sent
to the Federal Trade Commission, Bureau of
Consumer Protection, 6th St. and Penn-sylva-
nia Avenue, Washington, D.C. 20580.
The World Society for the
Protection of Animals reported on December
15 that hungry Russians are killing 14,000
cats and 8,000 dogs per year in Odessa, and
unknown numbers in Kiev, to collect about
50¢ a pelt from furriers. The skinned carcass-
es are often sold to mink farms.
Barbara Bonsignore of the New
Hampshire Animal Rights League again
offers her antifur kit free for long SASE, c/o
8 Hutchins St., Concord, NH 03301-3208.
