If you’re famous, you’re special, and that means influential. Retailers know that, which is why it’s enough to have, say, a movie star mumble something on a TV commercial to sell cars or any other product.
Queen Elizabeth, who, technically, is Queen of Canada, my country, is the ultimate celebrity to many, and as such is both a leader and a follower of social standards. Thus my delight when it was recently announced that she would no longer wear furs! Royalty epitomizes that combination of quality and elegance that denotes class, and the fur industry has long tried to present itself as a producer of just such class while ignoring the cruelty to animals that is inherent to the way in which furs are produced. It comes late in her life (she is 93), but remember, she represents all her subjects and cannot present herself as morally superior to the societal norm. She avoids being controversial, or critical.
I doubt many non-Canadians appreciate just how integral the fur industry is to the history of Canada. We Canadians are raised on tales of the coureur de bois (independent French trappers and traders); the Hudson Bay Company, built around the fur trade; the role Canada played in providing bear skins for British Palace guard hats; the fact that two black beaver and two elk skins are traditionally gifted to the Queen whenever she visits Canada; the muskrat skin winter hats worn by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police; moose-skin gloves and wolverine-framed parkas; the furbearing beaver as our national animal – the list goes on and on.
Thus, I was equally surprised to learn that one of our last two fur auction houses, North American Fur Auctions, the world’s oldest fur action house, is shutting down for lack of funding. This comes just after California, most certainly a fashion trend-setter, chose to ban furs.
To me, both fur trapping and “farming” exercise unacceptable cruelty. For those of us who care about and follow news on these issues, these trends show that fur is on its way out, as reflected by the contemporary news from both of our countries.
Keep Wildlife in the Wild,
Barry
