She may have spent most of her childhood in Ireland, but I reckon she’s confused the Oireachtas with the Parliament.

Thats exactly what we need another demonstration to put people out of work

Hey lay off the native weasels. Compare politicians to minks if you must but don’t dis our native weasel.

haha classic

Exactly. And for some reason my iPhone can’t seem to track down any farm owned by and worked by vegetarians where animals live their lives out for an extra 2 or 3 years into their old age with top class vetinary care. But I guess those guys don’t care enough for animals to do that.

It is actually very different. Meat is something people consume for sustenance. Fur farming is something that is done to provide fashionistas with an overpriced commodity that is antiquated and barbaric. The methods of slaughter are also widely different. How often are cattle gassed to death or anally electrocuted?

@ Frank, you seriously think that they only get a few extra years. The average lifespan of a mink in the wild is up to 8 years if not slaughtered after six months for their fur.
And also it usually wouldn’t be a farm where they would be kept for their lives. That would negate the definition of farming. It would be a sanctuary usually. Try using google. There are sanctuaries the world over.There are donkey and horse sanctuaries in ireland, as well as an exotic pet sanctuary and many others. There are a lot more sanctuary options in the Uk though.
Most people who keep animals and let them live out their lives however do not have a website for it. My close friend has 56 sheep and 2 donkeys atm. She has also taken in horses, cats and dogs. Though she has the advantage of acreage. She has had more sheep than she has had as many are starting to pass away naturally. Sheep can be typically seen to live as long as dogs or longer. Cattle even longer. So your 2 or 3 years is very off the mark. You don’t seem to know a lot about animals for somebody who comments so much.

You are a bit trollish Caffrey?

that should read “mink in captivity is up to 8 years”

Farms aren’t exactly holiday camps for animals nor is meat an essential food item. The finer cuts are luxury food items and people can survive without meat.

I’m not excusing the mistreatment of livestock, but let’s have some perspective.

Have you seen how the Fur farms are run? Mink are kept in cages the size of two shoes boxes, fed fish entrails that they are forced to lick from the roof of cages. Gassed to death 60 at a time, often many are still alive when they are skinned as too many are crammed into the chamber (known as a killing box). Foxes are anally electrocuted! They are kept in the open sheds as cold encourages thicker fur growth. Mink are semi-aquatic animas who spend a large amount of their time in water. They are denied access to water. Mink are solitary animals and being in close contact with so many of their kind cos them to exhibitit stereotypical psychotic behaviour such as self harm and cannabalism. The nature of the fur trade is to preserve the quality of the pelt not to ensure the welfare of the animals. The fur trade by it’s inherent nature is cruel and cannot be regulated. And considering the animals that are farmed for their fur Mr. Caffrey, there is absolutely no risk that mink are going to become extinct anytime soon. What can be done is ensure that they are not BRED en masse in order to suffer a short, painful and cruel existence before a horrific death. You should check out any of the videos from here or worldwide. Otherwise you are commenting without the facts. Fur farming is not like standard farming and it exists only to provide pelts that are nothing more than an overpriced status symbol. Nobody in Ireland needs fur.

There may be no risk that mink will become extinct because ignorant protesters releases mink into the wild where they destroy native animals and birds. Strong regulation could offer these animals a good life without endangering native species or bothering pseudo animal lovers to bother their fannys or wallets to provide for the likes of minks.

Your viewpoint is severely blinkered. There have been mink in the wild of Ireland since the inception of fur farming in Ireland. How did they get there? Not because they were released but because they escaped, long before the time of modern day animal rights activists released them. The majority of mink in Ireland stem from those that escaped decades ago. http://npws.ie/publications/irishwildlifemanuals/IWM40.pdf page 8, do the research.

The mink are killed after 6 months. That is not a good life. Pseudo animal lovers? In comparison to factual animal abusers? There is nothing pseudo about my love for animals. Considering I have attended many protests, including outside of fur farms I have bothered both my fanny and my wallet for this cause. Fur farming cannot be regulated. The necessity to preserve the pelt from damage means horrific deaths outside of conventionaly slaughter practices that are seen as humane. There is no such thing as strong regulation as fur farming in all countries that practice it have been revealed again and again to cause misery, harm and great distress to the animals bred there, even those that present themself as having strong regulation. The fact that Mink are non gregarious by nature and are lumped in with others of their kind is part of this. It encourages aggression, violence and cannabalism among them. They also cannot exhibit any of their natural behaviour.

Fur is in no way necessary and there is really no place for it in civilised society. For the price of a fur coat made up of as many as 60 mink and costing in the thousands of euro you could buy several outfits and warm jackets that do not necessitate mass cruelty.

You obviously haven’t researched fur-farming in Ireland or elsewhere and have resorted to slim referrences to isolated mink released and questioning the nature of peoples commitment to this cause by using the word ‘pseudo’ rather than present any arguments or true knowledge of the subject. To go with the flow of such statements I will call you a quasi-animal abuser who doesn’t want bother their fanny or their wallet to actually pay attention to the issue and see it for what it is. Oh, see what I did there.

A society can be judged by how it treats its animals and its vulnerable citizens

So are you.. Let’s skin you then!!

My dogs are only animals too. But if you try to hurt them I’d happily have you shot.
Humans are animals too,we prove that all the time with our behaviour

We are no longer huntergatherers. If we were we would be, you know, hunting and gathering. Not farming. We have now advanced to agricultural society. Our practices have changed dramatically over millenia so your argument doesn’t hold much water. If it did we should stop smelting, processing food, pasteurising milk, using machinery in general. Innovations and adaptions that are not natural but that we have created in order to facilitate convenience and a growing population. We would not have national or international courts or even live in metropolitan areas. Because you know we used to be nomadic, tribal and into out inter tribal warfare without such things as international humanitarian law, international human rights law and a million other things that we have adapted in our role of higher thinking and morally responsible human beings. Going from that point, to say that we cannot change because of habit is pretty nonsensical and is a cop out for a man who wants to have his way with the world. Attitudes like that are the key reasons behind mass pollution and the drive for natural resources even when it is detrimental.
It is not a few people with moral issues. It is a moral issue in itself. We are on the right side of the issue. Causing cruelty and pain to animals is wrong. There is not much room for maneuvering on that point.
Animals are not being hunted and trapped for their fur they are being farmed for it and it’s not out of necessity for clothing. As it is cheaper and warmer clothing is available. So therefore it is the practice itself.
Regulation cannot relieve what is an inherently cruel practice. The only way to stop the cruelty is to ban the practice.

Mink and foxes are naturally predatory animals. Like lions, bears, wolves, etc which we don’t have here. Should they ever be inclined to extinction, I know that they are not, we would still have to preserve them as a species. As we are attempting to do with any other endangered species. Mink are invasive species and they exist in the irish eco system because of the presence of fur farms. It is too late to stop that problem but shutting down fur farms will also stop any more escapes.
Your comments about attacking livestock and domestic animals are very scaremongery in tactic. These things rarely happen. Attacks by domesticated pets are much more common but are never mentioned. This is not to say that it doesn’t happen. And you know, wild animals tend to be wild. They, unlike us, have urges they cannot control and that is a part of nature. We pride outself on being top of the foodchain but there is no sustenance being provided for through fur farming and the lay person does not benefit from it. It is a fashion item. Cruelty and profit from suffering to look like a shiny pelt for the sake of outdated fashion? That is where the wrong is.

How odd are you? Do you just like to look at it?

There could be a TV3 documentary in this, tell me more!

Go on the lot of you Have your laugh …but I bet if I said I wear fur you would all be taking the p*ss too, I stand for my beliefs …. Not follow your leader like sheep , like you lot …

Ha ha … It is a lovely coat tho ! Have a nice evening boys !! Worth a few bob too , but you know ,the fact that my parents bought it for me ,so long ago , makes it special… :)

It’s not your fault if government fails to impose good enough welfare conditions for these animals, assuming of course they don’t, but at least their memory lives on in your appreciation and concern. I don’t suspect that many that would dis your post would bother their backsides to rare one these animals in any better conditions than they were rated.

Seriously Paul shaved fur? It’s not wool. Mind you these clueless pseudo animal lovers who probably never took care of an animal in their lives wouldn’t know better.

That report is almost 15 years old and there have been several undercover videos that have shown the situation to be otherwise.
also “Very little stereotypical behaviour noted” which is basically psychosis is not none. And in what world is a 10 minute gassing to death humane? Or electrocution.
As with any inspection where the farms are forewarned I would be highly dubious of any results from inspections that were not on the spot.

This video shows alot of steotypical behaviour, ie repetative actions and pacing representative of psychological stress from captivity. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moceenTkTbA

This is the most recent undercover footage released http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXnLn3R8Fiw

You can easily access information on standard farming but fur farming practices are hidden. Why? Because if we saw it openly we would know it for the wrong it is.

Think again, completely vegan.

I did say most jenn.

Most people in the animal welfare/rights movement are vegetarian or vegan. There are a lot of people of people who say they love animals but what they mean is they like cats and dogs while biting into a factory farmed chicken fillet but there are a large percentage who practice what they preach.

http://www.snapfish.com/Life/fe/p/ext/life/LifeCom?q=image_source~LIFECOM^image_id~50740781

Image doesn’t seem to work, but it our own Anjelica wearing fur

http://184.172.32.106/1998/oct_98star5.html

She admitted to having worn fur and having had a change of heart.

so are you…does that mean we can keep you in a cage where you can’t move, kill you and then make a bag out of your skin whilst throwing the rest of your carcass away?

That kind of opinion is why the Irish have shocking reputation for animal cruelty.

They dont have feelings.

I think its more like you don’t have feelings. They are sentient beings just like us and can feel fear, joy, pain etc…crawl back under your bridge. Evolution left you behind.

Ah ha ha. You just go ahead and insult me if it make you feel better.