Tough Call

[bridgewalker]

Okay, Dolls, I may be letting myself in for a flaming here, but I'd like to ask your opinions (and until I reply, they'll be screened).

I just watched "A Man Among Wolves" on National Geographic, and I was, of course, enthralled (especially with teaching the pups to howl, and with Tamasca, the big, black beta male dubbed "The Enforcer

Comments

[nverland]

Beautiful pelt. I bet he was stunning in life. Does make for a hard choice, though. With someone like you, I'd have little issues with, it's not a thing to gloat over as a wanton killer. Not so for others. My own personal feelings are that any killing for other than food or clothing is a waste. (says the person who wears animal fur on occasion)

[bridgewalker]

Yep, like I said, tough call. And you're right; no trophies here.

[ffiondove]

I wouldn't have it on my floor to be honest, at the end of the day, to me, it's something dead.

[bridgewalker]

Just to clarify:
I wear boots of elk and cowhide, and I'm sure there are few women who've never owned a leather purse. I've tanned deerhide myself for a blanket ('course, we ate the deer). And there's my jacket & gloves. I'm obviously no vegan.
We all live, in some form, off of death.
Aside from the prohibitive expense of the item (which I could never justify myself), my point is that the animal was "harvested" (even though I don't care for that word. Let's call it as it is: it was "killed", maybe after some farmer's sheep or cattle, or however. It was dispatched) anyway; in my home, it would be treated with respect.
Alot more than my boots or the leather chair in the living room.
Maybe because it's recognizable as once being living.
I don't know.

[ffiondove]

Yes I do wear leather and suede although I wouldn't wear fur and I do eat animal meat, apart from anything else, for me it would be a matter of the rug not being to my taste.

[bridgewalker]

That wasn't a stab at you, Luv, just using myself as an example of how we all draw our own personal lines, and it's up to us where/how/if they're crossed.
*hugs*

[nutmeg3]

I have to say...it turns my stomach. You might treat it with reverence, but by buying it, you would help perpetuate a market in which most buyers wouldn't have your motivation or ethics, and the end result would be the death of more wolves.

[bridgewalker]

That's it; you hit the nail on the head right there.
I couldn't conscience being the demand that fuels the supply.

But it's a no-win.
Say, for instance, I had a pet, hybrid, of course, and it died. I'd have no prob taking it to a taxidermist to be "immortalized" (not as a rug, obviously, but you get my drift), and animals that are used as meat, same deal. But trophies? Unh uh.

When Ang and I visited the zoo when they came out, a guy was walking around with a contraband pelt (he was a volunteer, showing it for educational purposes), and we both damn near tore him apart.
Til we found out what was what.

It's kind of like seeing animals in a shelter (way off tangent, bear with), and "knowing" that you want to take them all home and care for them "properly"...odd way to put it, I know.
Thanks for being honest about how you feel.

[nutmeg3]

It's the trophy thing - you're exactly right. And thanks for understanding. I realized I wasn't very clear about what turned my stomach, and what I meant was the whole trade in trophy pelts. I just can't understand people who have to possess an animal that way.

[bridgewalker]

Especially when there are other ways to "possess" such a magnificent creature...spiritually comes to mind, of course.

[susieqlilred]

My opinion....the killing of any animal or human for anything other than survival is hideously wrong.

[bridgewalker]

(I'm going to pick your brain here)
Everyone's definition of "survival" is different, don't you think? Like the vegans: no meat, because with all the meat-free options, we can't say we eat flesh-foods out of survival, and so it's like dominoes...leather, fur, and such; even honey, eggs, and dairy are "animal by-products".

It's difficult to find a solid stance on this. I mean, if we take it to its furthest extreme, even plants must "die" so we can consume them, and natural fibers were once living things.

But I agree; killing something just to stick it on the floor is hate-worthy.

[susieqlilred]

Ok...let me explain how I feel, if I can. I understand your argument and I understand that everyone's definition of survival is different, albeit that for some it's a 'cop out' so they don't feel guilty about what they are doing. Maybe in a way I fall into that last category. I grew up in a very poor family. We raised cows, pigs and chicken and slaughtered them for 'survival'. We had gardens of fresh vegetables and herbs that went with our meat and flavored our food. We ate the eggs from the chickens, drank the milk from the cows and made butter from the cream. I survived because those animals and vegetables died or gave us a part of them to survive. Do I do that today? No. But I do go to the store and 'survive' on the same thing that my family did when I was young. I just do not have to do it myself anymore. I have never been cold (we've always had a fire place and wood), so I have not had to slaughter an animal for it's fur and I have never owned a fur coat. I think they days of slaughtering to stay warm are long gone in

[bridgewalker]

I was just telling Bobbi yesterday that this post has stirred up darn near as many replies as when my mother died.
You are most entitled, my Sis, and your opinion is just as valued as anyone's.
*big smewches*

[miz_bliz]

I so wish I hadn't clicked that link, that was so sad to see him like that

[bridgewalker]

'bout time you surfaced, Lovey!
(tried to phone while you were at the in-laws being bored, but your cell was "unavailable"-rats!)

No one's bid on him...small wonder. Don't browse the store there; he's got more than one, and I damn near flew through the monitor when I saw the black.
I couldn't put him on the floor, if it were me; he'd likely end up on my bed, soaked with tears.

[miz_bliz]

Yeah, damn cell phone won't work there, it's like the dead zone. Dave went back for a couple of days at the beginning of the week and he had five bars right up until he hit their driveway, doesn't make sense to me.