Evening star., 1922-12-05
Fur Trade Cruelties
How Animals Suffer That Fair
Woman Nav Be Adorned.

To the Editor Of The Star:
In winter one sees furs at every
turn. and those who know with what
fright!ul suffering they are obtained
have their hearts sickened and their
eyes offended by seeing. as part of the
attire of civilized beings, such collec-
tons of the heads. tails and skins of
animals. as would disgrace a savage
Handsome heavy plush. velvet etc.
having great warmth, may readily be
found In the stores. from which beau
tiful coats. muffs and neckpieces can
be made, but the votary of fashion
holds up her hands in horror at the
mere thought of parting with her
furs. declaring that she could not get
on without them.
This is ridiculous as an argument,
for she bares her throat and chest
generously to icy. bitter winds. and
is seen on the streets in zero weather
in low shoes. even slippers, with
limbs extensively displayed in an
apology for covering. However, only
her frail body.
We see great organizations for the
trea tment Of tuberculosis. but better
the fence at the edge of the precipice
than the ambulance down in the val
ley" None OF these organizations
seems to point out one of the causes of
this dread disease. i. G.. modern wom-
ems dress-which Is sowing the seed
of this and other diseases AMI send
ing many of the youth of the land TO
untfmely. early graves.
The hideous cruelties of the fur
trafhc are SO numerous that it would
be difficult to say upon witt. Lind of
lur the stains lie deepest and dark
est. but the gentleness of the seal
makes it's butchery one OF the worst
If the WearerS of sealskin could but
read the horrible details of the kill
ing of these gentle creatures it nigh;
fore buying or wearing the skins.
Capt. Borchgrevink, in the Century
Magazine. wrote. in regard to the
killing of seals:
'As rule the slaughter and skim
ming of the seals were most barbar-
Gus. bloody and Observation-Disclosures
lily so. Especially cruel is the task
when seal spikes are used. Only
rarely does seal die from one or
two blows of the spike. and If 1t is
not dead 1t is generally considered
all the better for it is easier to skin
seal while 1t is half alive"
And sensitive. refined. gentle wom-
en- wear these skins with no thought
of the suffering involved in obtaining
them. II women refused to wear furs
this awful butchery would soon cease.
That cruel monstrosity. the steel
trap. is responsible for a vast amount
of suffering among wild animals.
This device is usually concealed un.
der the snow or under a handful of
leaves or just under the surface of
the water. and it holds its rict;m In
Its merciless grip with q tenacity that
never weakens. Only when the in
stinct of Representation is keenly
developed is escape made possible by
the animals gnawing off it's foot or
its tail and hobbling away. to be cap
tured again perhaps. Trappcrs often
find animals alive in the traps. their
captive foot swollen to twice it's nor
NAL size, and evidence of intense suf-
fering.
Some trappers have been caugh. in
their own traps. and it Is said that
those who escaped alive never again
set trap for an animal. We should
do all we can to arouse sentiment
against the use of the steel trap and
put an end to this great and useless
suffering, this needless torture
ROBERTA SOULE.