Despite PETA's extremely aggressive marketing campaign, fur is here to stay. There is no comparison between faux fur and the real thing. And despite the arguments listed above, most people are not going to see a big difference between leather and fur. Good luck getting people to give up their leather shoes. As for saying leather is different because we eat the cow, don't the fur animal carcasses get made into pet food? Something eats it, just not humans.
As for the gruesome videos, I'm sure you could find videos just as revolting from the meat industry or the pharmaceutical industry. But are you really going to stop eating meat or wearing leather? Or not accept medical treatment for a life-threatening condition? (Interestingly, PETA opposes the use of animals for medical research, yet Mary Beth Sweetland, Sr Vice President of PETA, is a diabetic who uses insulin daily--insulin that was tested on animals and contains animal products. Hypocrisy, anyone?)
Rather than just saying "fur is evil," etc., the push should be to REFORM the fur industry and institute standards for treatment of fur animals. And, in fact, such standards are in place for fur farmers in Europe. Rather than insisting that ALL fur is bad and saying that everyone who wears fur is evil, it would be more productive to draw distinctions based on fur origin, including where it was farmed and if the farm conforms to humane standards.
We exploit animals every day for a variety of uses. I don't see domesticated fur animals as having some special moral status because they are more photogenic, or because their pelts are used to create a "luxury" item. However, I DO believe that, like all animals, they should be treated humanely while they are in our care and their deaths should be swift and humane. Such standards could be straightforward to enforce, given the will.
Humans aren't BORN with fur on their body. Fur was meant to be on animals and I like it that way..........
