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9 <br /> Fur Articles/Advertising and Glamour <br /> Recently there appeared in this newspaper an <br /> advertisement/story (note: use whichever is appropriate) <br /> promoting fur coats as symbols of affluence and fashion. The <br /> glamorous photographs of beautiful models in fur garments belie <br /> the horrors by which wildlife is transformed into items of <br /> clothing. Each year in the United States, an estimated seventeen <br /> million wild animals are trapped for their fur. A majority of <br /> these animals are victims of the steel-jaw trap, an antiquated <br /> device used since 1823. Studies by wildlife biologists show that <br /> one-quarter to one-half of the animals caught in steel-jaw traps <br /> received crippling injuries, including torn flesh and ligaments <br /> and broken bones. Wild animals should not be trapped for <br /> vanity's sake. Remember, every fur coat hurts. <br /> Trapping, Fur, and Glamour <br /> The main reason for trapping is to sell skins for fur <br /> coats. Most trapping is done with either the Conibear trap or <br /> steel-jaw leghold trap, both of which are cruel and inhumane. <br /> The public no longer needs to wear furs for warmth; many suitable <br /> substitutes are available for coats. Let's protect our wildlife <br /> from unnecessary cruelty. We can start by banning trapping and <br /> encouraging people not to wear furs. <br /> Trapping and Glamour <br /> Many people believe that fur coats are beautiful. I believe <br /> that too, but only on their original owners. Fur animals-- <br /> whether ranch-raised or trapped--are often subject to incredible <br /> cruelty. As a society, we should no longer condone this <br /> cruelty. Let's leave the beautiful furs on the backs of animals-- <br /> raccoons, bobcats, and others--that own them. Furs are not <br /> glamorous clothing; they are a symbol of cruelty. <br /> Charles Darwin (Father of the Modern Theory of Evolution) and <br /> Banning Traps <br /> More than a century ago, Charles Darwin wrote of the steel- <br /> jaw trap, "Some who reflect upon this subject for the first time <br /> will wonder how such cruelty can have been permitted to continue <br /> in these days of civilization and no doubt if men of education <br /> saw with their own eyes what takes place under their sanction, <br /> the system would have been put an end to long ago. We shall be <br /> told that setting steel traps is the only way to preserve <br /> g <br /> but we cannot believe that Englishmen when their attentionise, <br />