Is winter cruel?

What if today I decided to invade your home, kidnap you and take you away to an unfamiliar space to experiment with your humanity? What if the eyelashes that are meant to protect your eyes and the clothes that are meant to keep you warm, the food to help you survive are stripped away from you by me? Would you call me cruel?

What if I told you that this very behavior is actually present in our society and living creatures are abused daily for the aim of profit? Would you help me fight for their voice?

Many of us are unaware that injustice is embedded in the products we consume and in this case I would like to speak about clothing. As cold temperature approaches and we seek warmth, winter wear skyrockets and so does the consumption of fur.

Many winter coats use real animal fur. You may question yourself, like I once did: It’s just fur, it will grow back, right? How is this exactly animal abuse? Well, just like your skin is meant to keep your organs in place, so is their fur meant to keep them warm to fight daily survival.

The process required to attain animal fur includes trapping these animals, coyotes in particular, by crushing their limbs, stripping away their fur and either waiting until they bleed to death, or are simply killed.

Later they manufactured jackets with their fur and charge you an average of $600 to make their suffering worth it.

Many are taken outside of their habitats, similar to a kidnap, and experts experiment with their nature so that they can manufacture products (e.g. make up, clothing, purses) so that you can pay the dollar to justify their cruelty.
Animal rights is often an issue that is shoved aside because it is not convenient to speak about it considering so many companies rely on animals as their sources of profit.

However, as an animal lover and activist I feel the responsibility to speak for the voiceless and fight for their rights, specifically on winter attire. I would like to inform Laurier students that sometimes, we indirectly support the abuse of animals with our purchases.

I ask that you would please reconsider your shopping choices when going to the mall this season. Become conscious that small shopping decisions can be the reason another animal is being trapped right now so that you may be warm this winter. If we are winter, let’s embrace it ethically. Let’s embrace it with love.