After waging a decades’-long war on trapping and fur, animal rights activists have lost their footing in wake of vintage fur’s rising popularity.
“In with the old” is the philosophy fueling this fur resurgence, wrote the New York Times. The Grey Lady further attributes its unlikely re-emergence to the “Mob Wife” social media trend, noting it boasts a “decadent amalgam of fur coats, leather and leopard prints, and adjacent to “Old Money” and “Rich Girls,” which are rife with wealth signifiers.”
NYT also says fur “dovetails with the new political order” - including “nostalgia for Reagan-era culture.” The Wall Street Journal equally chimed in, exclaiming “fur is back in fashion.” It added, “Furriers across the country are seeing renewed interest in their vintage and used stock, increasing their sales.”
Why is fur having a moment? Fashionistas, who bill themselves as eco-conscious, are questioning faux fur’s sustainability bonafides over alleged use of microplastics. Perhaps they also realize the imitator, like lab-grown and “plant-based” meat, is worse than the original.
As vintage fur gets a second look, high demand could lead to Americans reassessing their opposition to trapping - the practice that produces these sought-after fur pelts.
Trapping, while unfairly maligned, is widely considered a conservation practice in the vein of fishing and hunting. Regulated trapping is perfectly aligned with the principles articulated by the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation.
“Trapping is simply a form of hunting and every citizen in good standing has the freedom to participate in the harvest of wildlife,” notes a related document. “Those who trap have a vested interest, perhaps more than any others, in the perpetuation of furbearer species.”
Fur trappers are the best advocates of furbearers (i.e. beavers, mink, and raccoons) and work with state wildlife agencies to ensure their longevity. In January 2021, the Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks partnered with trappers to reintroduce the pine marten to a local mountain range. Pittman-Robertson funding, derived from excise taxes collected on firearms and ammunition purchases, also fund furbearer restoration projects. There are numerous examples of their place in American conservation efforts, with groups like Fur Takers of America keeping this tradition and stewardship practices alive.
“When fur is used in a slow-fashion way, it is a relatively sustainable resource,” Vogue explains. The fashion publication explained that furriers, individuals who specialize in clothing derived from animal skins, utilize all parts of an animal–whether for consumption or other uses. Most hunters and anglers adhere to the same philosophy, too. So do trappers.
The anti-fur movement hit its zenith a few years ago, when several blue states succeeded in banning new fur sales–especially to the detriment of women and legal immigrant-owned fur sales.
California, unsurprisingly, became the first U.S. state to ban new fur sales in 2019 under Assembly Bill 44. It later went into effect four years later on January 1, 2023. The Golden State previously accounted for 22% of total U.S. fur sales.
Yet the tide against fur appears to be turning–even in blue bastions. Last fall, 58% of Denver voters - hardly a conservative voting bloc - soundly rejected an anti-fur ordinance called Initiated Ordinance 308 that would have prohibited new fur sales. The Denver Post Editorial Board sharply criticized the ballot measure, writing, “We disagree vehemently with the premise behind this movement. Killing animals for food and clothing is not inherently cruel.”
Trapping is more necessary today with the surge of unmanaged predators like urban coyotes.
MeatEater host and author, Steven Rinella, highlighted the aforementioned NYT article on his Instagram account, writing, “Right now I’m getting a custom bomber jacket made for my wife from our own muskrats pelts. I was telling her that if an animal rights activist asks how many animals had to die to make that coat, the answer is likely going to be around 60. I don’t sell fur anymore, but I’m rooting for trappers that their furs will start demanding better prices soon. I’ve been seeing a lot more furs in airports and big cities. I love it!!”
“Trappers are the keystone conservationists,” Fred Bird, northeastern states manager at the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation, wrote to Townhall.com in a statement. “Trappers provide important real-time data to state and federal agency professionals often on their own dime. The data they [furtrappers] provide would cost hundreds of millions of dollars annually to state and in federal agencies if they hired full-time employees. Conversely, trappers enthusiastically travel backroads and waterways in their own vehicles, spending money on their own gas and equipment, and provide invaluable biological data in a way no other outdoors group can.”
He added, “If not for this citizen army of conservationists who are often out in the predawn hours, out of sight and out of mind, conservation and wildlife management would look a lot different in America.”
To those worried about a trapping revival decimating furbearer populations, fear not: the activity is highly-regulated and selling furbearer pelts is done ethically.
I, a daughter of Eastern European immigrants, am here for fur’s revival. Let’s make real fur - and trapping - great again.
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