Faces of the Fur Industry (Photo List)

Posted on 28 March 2012 at 6:00AM by Ashley Fruno

People who wear fur often don’t think about the animals who died for their coat, collar, or bit of trim. But what about the rabbits who spent months confined to a cage barely bigger than they were? Or the raccoon dogs who had their skin ripped off their body while they kicked and writhed in pain?

PETA’s undercover investigation into Chinese fur farms reveals the shocking truth that the fur industry doesn’t want you to see: coypus, minks, rabbits, foxes, and raccoon dogs confined to deplorable living conditions, having their basic needs neglected and being killed in ways that would horrify any compassionate person. These photos depict the lives of the fur industry’s fashion victims:

Raccoon dogs wait to be sold at a fur market in China. Animals sold at markets often witness other animals around them who are clubbed to death or have their neck snapped.

Rabbits—who are extremely clean by nature—are kept in tiny, filthy cages on fur farms, surrounded by their own waste. They spend their lives standing on the thin cage wires that constantly cut into their sensitive footpads.

Rabbits are sensitive, smart animals with individual personalities, just like dogs and cats. People who share their homes with rescued rabbits report that the animals make lifelong bonds with other rabbits and humans, play with toys, and can even learn to use litterboxes.

In the wild, coypus spend most of their lives in and around water, but on fur farms, they are often confined to barren cement enclosures.

To cut costs, fur farmers pack animals into unbearably small cages, preventing them from taking more than a few steps in any direction or doing anything that is natural and important to them.