Furthermore, oil spills are devastating to fisheries, animal populations and habitat, and petroleum is not a renewable resource. Given that habitat loss and pollution are the gravest threats facing wildlife today, synthetic clothing is an environmentally unfriendly option.



Fur, by contrast, is a natural, renewable resource, which can be used forever with positive environmental impacts when the people involved are managed wisely by scientists and government.

Conservation and Fur

All leading conservation organizations accept man's consumptive use of renewable natural resources provided it is sustainable. These organizations include the National Wildlife Federation, the Canadian Wildlife Federation, and the three co-sponsors of the World Conservation Strategy: the World Conservation Union (IUCN), the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). "Conservation" can be defined in a number of ways, but all definitions require that consumptive use of renewable resources be done sustainably. In other words, resources must be used within their capacity to reproduce. To ignore the concept of sustainable use is to endanger the future not only of man but also of all Earth's biodiversity. Both trapping and fur farming fully satisfy this criterion. Trappers and sport hunters play a vital role as sustainable users and hence as conservationists, functioning as environmental "lookouts" for our urbanized communities. While living and working on the land, it is these people who are the first to notice habitat degradation, pollution and other threats to wildlife. These are your canaries in the coalmine, so to speak, and it is important for society to support them when they raise concerns about the health of habitats and animal populations.

Meanwhile, fur farmers feed their animals the by-products from our meat- and fish-packing plants and restaurants so this "waste" is fully utilized. Also, the farm-raised animals' fecal matter is returned to the soil as organic fertilizers for the production of crops. The World Conservation Strategy, prepared by the World Conservation Union, with advice, cooperation and financial assistance from UNEP and WWF and in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and the United Nations Educational and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); states the three objectives of conservation as:

o Maintenance of essential ecological processes and life-support systems;

o Preservation of genetic diversity;

o Sustainable utilization of species and ecosystems.

The fur trade fully supports and pursues these conservation objectives every day in countries around the world.