Women’s pursuit of fashion has brought death and suffering to hundreds of millions of wild animals, and has put many species on the danger list. Throughout Europe and America, in any large city you would probably buy a fur coat made from ocelot, jaguar, or leap ord – that as, if you had the money. It might cost you several thousand pounds. It is hard to say how many deaths had been caused in making it. For every coat of ocelot fur, at least thirty animals may have lost their lives – fourteen skins in every coat, six discarded because of damage, and at least ten representing the young or kittens destroyed. At the height of the trade many thousands were caught each year.
Do we really love animals, or only the opportunity of killing them? Many species have been depleted by hunting for sport. Often people who hunt and shoot are animal lovers but others are revolted by unnecessary killing and cruelty. Foxes still exist in Britain today not in spite of hunting but because of it. About twenty-thousand foxes are killed each year, but because the hunters enjoy their sport they are careful to see that breeding continues and numbers are kept up. Otherwise foxes would have been shot out of existence by unsentimental farmers. Deer and hares are not endangered as species by hunting in Britain, though otters and badgers are at risk.
Elsewhere in the world the British have taken the lead in blood sports and their example has been enthusiastically followed. Many animals are hunted, trapped and caught for the pet trade, zoos, wildlife parks and circuses, or for laboratory experiments. In America in particular, the sale of wild animals as pets has become big business, though Britain and other countries are also deeply involved. Many animals on sale are delicate, difficult to feed, or unable to withstand different climatic conditions or thoughtless treatment. Many died unnecessarily. Furthermore deaths in trapping, deaths during air travel, and further looses caused by bad handling and feeding greatly out number the animals that eventually become pets..
The Essay on Exotic Animals Zoos Natural Species
Doing Time Are zoos really safety retreats for exotic animals or wretched prisons When I was a child, I used to think that zoos were cheerful and exciting places to go, wonderful places where humans helped misplaced animals to live happy lives. However, I was very wrong! Fortunately, I was blinded by the clowns and cotton candy and did not see that the animals were not happy or cheerful, and the ...
