by margaret hillcroft

Created on: November 09, 2008   Last Updated: December 30, 2010

"Bye baby bunting, Daddy's gone a-hunting,

Gone to fetch a rabbit skin to wrap his baby bunting in"

(and mummy made a great stew)

Does that really sound immoral? Or should daddy have gone and drilled for oil, built a factory, mixed up some noxious chemicals and made faux fur?! Oh! and killed a few life threatening bears and wolves in the process?

Humans have been wearing animal skins since the Stone Age. Why? Because they are THE natural way to keep warm. Not only that they feel gorgeous and look fantastic [ if you like that kind of thing]. For hats, gloves, coats and boots there is no material which will beat the weather better.

Animals come in many shapes and sizes and each has a place in the food chain. The reality is that many creatures are prey animals and exist to be killed by other animals. Nothing eats without taking the life of another life form be it that of a carrot. crab or cow. Nature does not cast moral judgments on this fact. Humans do have a choice about there eating habits denied many other animals and being omnivorous can exist on meat laden or meat free diets. Make no mistake about it though, when the chips are down and life is tough, humans will eat each other rather than face starvation. It is called survival. It is a real fact that in the natural world every creature, at some point in its existence will become prey for another. Bird eats worm, snake eats bird, mongoose eats snake, big cat eats mongoose, big cat dies, worm eats big cat and so on.

Some people find the using of animal skins for clothes abhorrent. In these days of extinctions caused by indiscriminate hunting of wild animals that is understandable. Yet those same people will happily wear synthetic fur which if they stopped to consider, is probably more environmentally damaging. Its production involves the petro -chemical industries which are not famous for their environmental friendliness or green ethos.

All natural fibres are considered to be healthier to wear than synthetics. Cotton, linen, fur, leather and skin are organic and allow the skin to breathe. They have properties which no synthetic fabric can ever reproduce and are the ideal fabrics from which to make human clothing. In these days of pollution and energy conservation it makes a lot of sense to use materials which come straight from the natural world and cut down on the use of chemicals and plastics wherever possible. Yes, the curing of skins and manufacture of fur coats does use chemical processes but less than

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