RCMP tried to do the right thing

[Catherine]

Big HISS to out Federal Government for interfering. The RCMP(our federal police agency) had decided to stop using fur hats and wear something friendly and Canadian...tuques. Quite acceptable.

The Federal Government, under the influence of the fur lobby has blocked the move. They link the history of Canada to the fur trade. Lots of countries have histories linked to "bad" things. We should be able to move forward from our past.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/muskrat-...-1.2784474

http://www.cfra.com/NationalCP/Article.aspx?id=437199

Just for the record.....I didn't vote for them and I won't vote for them again in the 2015 election.

[Tobi]

This is stupid, backward-thinking, and extremely unkind.

[LPC]

Quote from the article: "Standards dictate that a trap must render 80 per cent of animals tested irreversibly unconscious within a maximum of 300 seconds, the institute says."

80%? That means 20% (one in five) have to suffer horrendous pain for longer than 5 minutes. As for the rest - even 4 minutes is a long time to suffer, with sharp metal teeth ripping into their bodies, possibly dislocating limbs.

The minister who stopped the RCMP from changing their headgear is Inuk (known as Eskimo in Europe). I suspect some hidden agendas here, as the fur trade hardly had to say much to get their way: "We raised our concerns, but I think the government was already there. We didn't have to do much — they got it."

One step forward - and then one step back again. A sad story.

[Tobi]

300 seconds is a long time......80% is just not good enough.
Not enough compassion and caring.
They are only animals???
So are we.

It has to be all about money. What else would interest some humans?

[Catherine]

It is all about the money. The fur lobby is strong and they have money. People with money fund political parties. The party they funded is in power right now.
I am sure this is not the worst thing they have done and the next election is a year away.
Remember, these are the people who turned down the Kyoto accord.

The whole government is a step backward for animals, people, the whole planet!

They do not care about animal suffering.

Quote:"Standards dictate that a trap must render 80 per cent of animals tested irreversibly unconscious within a maximum of 300 seconds, the institute says."

We won't even talk about the 20%. Three hundred seconds is a very long time. I do an exercise for my shoulder that hurts a little. The 20 seconds I do it, is a painful long time. I could not handle 300 seconds.


The RCMP did try, so we can only hope that when we have a different government they can try again. Progress is slow.

[Knight of Albion]

There is no need for fur clothing in this day and age. There are plenty of viable synthetic material alternatives, even that look exactly like the real thing.

I'm guessing a ban/adopting a humane alternative would cause loss of revenue to a small but vocal minority.
A shame the politicians don't have the backbone to stand against cruelty.

And traps are the most cruel of all the hunting methods. Some animals have been known to bite their own leg off in a desperate attempt to break free.
And five minutes? In the unpoliced wilderness where the hunters operate this (and five minutes is way too much) is meaningless. It could just as easily be five hours for anyone would know.

[Tobi]

I can vouch for what Knight of Albion says about other materials. Fake furs really are warm. I know. I bought a fake fur jacket during an extremely cold winter when we were getting temperatures well below freezing -about 10-15 below. And I was warm as toast....and probably would have been if it had been even colder than those temperatures.
Then there are fibre-filled cold-weather clothes, which mountaineers use. Even mountaineers who climb K2 and Everest! They are lightweight and insulating.
We definitely do not need to wear an animal's coat, at the expense of its life in horrendous suffering.

[Catherine]

I live in Canada and I don't wear fur. I didn't wear fur when I lived in in Edmonton the week it was -40C. It was seriously cold, but I dressed in layers and wrapped up well. There are lots of good cold weather coats. Most of them are more light weight than fur. My main winter coat sheds water pretty good. We get ice rain and waterproof is good.
My coat is machine washable!

Leave the fur coats to the animals. They need them more than we do and I think they look better in them.

I suspect most trapped animals suffer for hours. I don't suppose they are killed nicely either. A guy who traps an animal probably does not care about humane killing.

We need a new government in Canada.