Anti-fur protestors: more harm than help

            A few posts ago, I wrote about the fur industry and all of the horrible things that are done to the animals raised and killed for their pelts. I think it’s only fitting to follow up with a post about the anti-fur movement and the controversial tactics employed by some of its members, notably at protests staged by PeTA.

            As I described, many fur farmers show little concern for the comfort of the animals they raise (and I’m not talking about padded cages or acres of open field for them to run around in, I’m talking about basic comfort like being able to move more than a few inches). The methods that are often used to kill animals for their fur are even more sickening. It’s no wonder that many people would have a very visceral reaction to the thought of animals suffering in such awful ways.

            Anti-fur activists, perhaps for this reason, are very forceful with their views and often use methods that many would consider extreme. Methods used by protest groups such as PeTA include painting a few protestors’ bodies to look like skinned animals, lying nude in masses with blood splashed over their bodies, and, perhaps most famously, throwing blood on passersby wearing fur coats. Anti-fur groups have also used shocking media campaigns, such as celebrities posing nude, to attract public attention.

            I am certainly sympathetic to the cause of anti-fur activists. It is also obvious that their methods successfully create a buzz whenever they are reported on. But I wonder whether all the attention they garner also comes at the expense of their cause. Destroying someone’s coat by throwing blood on them is not only illegal but also makes you come off as crazy to most normal people, especially those who have not been exposed to your cause.

            Unfortunately, once the anti-fur movement becomes too entangled with activist groups, a lot of people tune the issue out. It really wouldn’t be too hard to get people to pledge not to buy fur by showing them a few pictures of suffering animals, but when all they see are rabid protestors screaming and terrorizing bystanders they are a lot less likely to be at all interested in associating themselves with the anti-fur cause.

            Although I’m sure anti-fur protestors have the best of intentions, I wish they would step back and look at the kind of attention they are getting in mainstream society. Maybe then, the fur industry’s heartless actions could become the topic of serious debate rather than the secondary story next to the anti-fur freak show.