European trapped fur import ban closer––maybe

November 1, 1995 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, November 1995:

DENVER – –The likelihood Europe
will finally implement a 1991 ban on the
import of U.S. and Canadian trapped fur––if
only as a gesture––increased October 2 when
International Standards Organization technical
committee on trap standards chair Neal
Jotham, of Canada, acknowledged that,
“There is no possibility of reaching a consensus”
on what constitutes a “humane” trap.
The ISO concession enables the
enforcement of European Council Regulation
32254/91, adopted five years ago as an ultimatim
to the fur industry to either end cruel
trapping or cease the import of trapped fur.
Under the regulation, use of leghold traps
will simultaneously be banned throughout the
EC nations, effective on January 1, 1996.
As much as 70% of all fur trapped
in the U.S. is exported to Europe. Thus the
import ban, if it sticks, could cripple the
already declining trapping industry.

Children & Animals

October 1, 1995 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 1995:

Barbara Carr of Buffalo, New York, executive director of the
SPCA Serving Erie County, attended the non-governmental forum at the
recent United Nations World Conference on Women, held in China. “I put
forth that the marriage of humane education to literacy is as old as history,”
she said, “and that we have taught children and societies values and morals
through stories about animals from Aesop to Walt Disney. I outlined the link
between violent treatment of animals and violent treatment of women and
children. The other delegates easily saw the point.”
A recent Illinois Department of Conservation telephone survey
of 504 state residents found that only 22% approved of fur trapping and
27% approved of fur hunting––and 50% hadn’t heard of the agency. After
hearing a series of statements favoring fur trapping and hunting, however,
which seem to have exaggerated wildlife nuisances, 46% approved of fur
trapping; outright disapproval of fur trapping dropped from 71% to 46%.

RELIGION & ANIMALS

June 1, 1995 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 1995:

Islamic fundamentalists on April

19 capped two weeks of railing against the

appearance of scantily clad performers b y

torching the stage and tents of the New Opera

Circus, killing a boy and a bear, as it per-

formed outside the Cox’s Bazar resort near

Eidgaon village in Bangladesh. The mob also

stabbed a tiger, an elephant, and various other

animals before police arrived, arresting three

assailants. Officials of Cox’s Bazar said they

had been unable to persuade the circus, from

the Brahmanbaria district of Bangladesh, to

pack up and leave.

Fur

June 1, 1995 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 1995:

Minneapolis furrier Robert

Zicari recently told Fur Age Weekly read-

ers that he’s trying to get licensing rights

from Walt Disney to promote fur goods bear-

ing the image of Snow White, and “Their

response was not altogether negative. We

have a chance if we put the cost up front.”

Linking Disney to fur would be an unlikely

coup; the 1959 Disney film 101 Dalmatians,

about Cruella DeVil’s attempt to make a

dog-fur coat, preceded a fur sales crash, and

the 1991 re-release of the film in home video

format also coincided with a skid. More is

ahead: Walt Disney Pictures on May 9 hired

Stephen Herek to direct a live edition of 101

Dalmatians, to be produced by John Hughes

and Ricardo Mestres, probably starring

Glenn Close as Cruella. Filming begins in

October. Thank Walt Disney Co. for its his-

torical role in promoting kindness toward

animals and urge it keep high standards at

500 Buena Vista St., Burbank, CA 91521.

Fur

April 1, 1995 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 1995:

Fur sales skidded––again––this past winter. “This

was the single worst season since the 1930s,” said Robert

Meltzer of Evans Inc. Sales at the 12 Evans stores fell by $6.2

million during the third quarter of 1994. At the Danish Fur Sales

auction of December 15, an industry barometer, the average

mink pelt price fell from $29.91 in 1993––the highest in

years––to $20.15. Yet clearance dropped to 78%. At the retail

level, the average advertised price of a basic mink coat in the

New York City area plunged to $2,282 by Valentine’s Day, close

to last winter’s all-time low in inflation-adjusted dollars of $2,174.

Cruelty charges filed in August 1994 against chin-

chilla breeder Jose LaCalle of Freestone, California, were

dropped on February 10 when LaCalle agreed to cease killing

chinchillas by genital electrocution––at least within California

––and announced he’d moved his firm, Bella Chinchilla

International, “to an undisclosed country south of the U.S. bor-

der.” Filed by the Sonoma County Humane Society based on

evidence obtained by PETA, the case was reportedly PETA’s

fifth attempt to win a precedent-setting cruelty conviction against

a chinchilla breeder, based on the American Veterinary Medical

Association’s determination that genital electrocution is inhu-

mane. So far, none of the cases have gone to trial. Chinchilla

ranching has been a bit more profitable lately than mink and fox

ranching. The average pelt price fell from $31.08 in 1990 to

$26.61 in 1994, but profits rose because the price drop increased

demand. Fur-trimmed cloth and leather garments are the only

growth sector of the industry and furriers find that chinchilla trim

brings a higher markup than mink, fox, or most trapped furs.

Alaska halts wolf-killing; FRIENDS OF ANIMALS VIDEO SHOCKS WORLD; FURRIERS FRET OVER SNARING EXPOSURE

January 1, 1995 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, Jan/Feb 1995:

ANCHORAGE––The latest Alaskan war against wolves officially ended

December 12, as Alaska Department of Fish and Game staff reportedly finished removing

683 snares set in October from a 1,000-square-mile “game management unit” southwest of

Fairbanks. A dozen dead wolves were retrieved, as well, bringing the winter toll to 36 and

the count since the snaring campaign began in October 1993 to 130.

Admitting that the snares were not monitored often––Alaska has no trap-checking

requirement––the ADFG said it was uncertain if the last 12 wolves were caught before or

after Alaska Fish and Game Commissioner Carl Rosier halted the killing on December 1. It

was certain, however, that they died painful and probably lingering deaths. Rosier acted

under pressure from governor-elect Tony Knowles, who pledged November 30 that he would

Fur

January 1, 1995 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

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.

Fur

December 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, December 1994:

“The International Trade Commission––measuring production

and import/export figures––placed U.S. [wholesale] fur consumption at

$338 million last year, down from $705 million in 1989 but up from $283

million in 1992,” the November 7 edition of New York magazine reported.

The ITC figures validate ANIMAL PEOPLE’s projection based on retail

mink prices that the U.S. fur trade took in $650 to $750 million in each of

the past two winters, about two-thirds of what the fur trade claims.

Although ANIMAL PEOPLE projected that retail sales fell again last win-

ter, the wholesale dollar volume could have been up, as many furriers are

now pushing more costly furs such as sable to make up for lost volume.

Fur

November 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, November 1994:

While the fur trade for the third year in

a row touts a comeback, facts and figures again

tell a different story. “For the first time in 50

years,” the Ritz Thrift Shop advertised in October,

“the Ritz is offering new designer furs,” apparently

clearing unsold stock from other furriers.

A burst of auction fever last winter

boosted the average mink pelt price from $20.49 in

Toronto on December 14 to $29.91 at Copenhagen

the next day, sparking even faster bidding at sever-

al other auctions, but by the season-ending auction

in Finland the average had fallen back to $20.50.

Even then, a third of the pelts offered didn’t sell,

perhaps because furriers had already bought half

again more pelts than they’ve sold in garments dur-

ing any of the past five winters, at an overall aver-

age of $30.13. To break even, retailers will have to

sell more fur this winter than they have since 1989-

1990, for 35% more money than they got last win-

ter: an average mink coat price of $3,200. In

October, the average was closer to $2,500.

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