No fur on miniatures please!

[Patrice]

Anonymous wrote:

Rhoderic wrote:

when farmed for what essentially amounts to “fur harvesting”, are often kept under inhumane conditions.

in the wild? Helpless and innocent they are not.

Yes that’s a difference. Foxes, boars, badgers wander near my house, I don’t do any harm to them, they seem quite happy; when they are hunted in the area it’s not for their fur (which no one collects) it is for other reasons. In our modern time commercial fur doesn’t come from wild animals it comes from farms …often with questionable conditions.

I’ve always been somewhat surprised to see Sci-Fi miniatures (including GW, but not only) wearing fur coats, it often gives me the impression that the sculptor had been looking for something cool (and almost medieval) but not realistic if you really believe in the context (which many young players don’t think about, they just want it to look cool, and I don’t blame them it happened to me too). Perhaps PETA is asking the same question from their own point of view?

http://www.argad-bzh.fr/argad/en.html
https://www.anargader.net/

[Anonymous]

Patrice,

 

I actually have concerns in the real world but I will wear the legacy fur items we have inherited when necessary – they are quite warm – but as for fur in SF…  guess it depends on the tech level of the characters in the game.  Like Down it may be cheaper and more efficient to produce synthetic fibers in mass but those who have the economic means may use fur for status or perceived comfort.

[Rhoderic]

Anonymous wrote:

Rhoderic wrote:

So I think PETA is arguing that depicting the wearing of fur belongs in that category, because in real life animals are helpless, innocent beings that, when farmed for what essentially amounts to “fur harvesting”, are often kept under inhumane conditions.

Ever been around a mink? Or a badger, beaver, fox, raccoon, or skunk in the wild?

Are you asking me? As I’d clarified, I wasn’t endorsing the argument, I was reconstructing it from an academic point of view. I won’t go further into the subject of animal helplessness or innocence, or lack thereof. I have my thoughts about that but I’m not interested in debating them, and I don’t think Mike would like that either.

Anonymous wrote:

The inhumane conditions are something I cannot speak to in first hand experience.

Nor can I. The problem there is, no one in society except PETA ever talks about it, least of all fur farmers themselves, and there’s a fairly low limit to my attention to PETA. My general impression is that fur farming is done by shady people in places far from prying eyes, but I don’t give it much thought.

At the end of the day, while I have little interest in wearing real fur, I can’t unhitch myself from my sable brushes until technological advancement gives us synthetic bristles of at least near-equal quality, and there seems to be a conspicuous lack of other hobbyists proclaiming they’ve given up sable either. I think that’s more of a litmus test than anything else in this matter. So at least I know I’m in good company. Even so, it’s OK to still talk about unattained ideals, and to be hopeful of technological advancement.

[Author]

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