A project by Helmi Lipiäinen: Writing and giving an impressive speech

Helmi Lipiäinen

Dear teacher and fellow students,

I am Helmi Lipiäinen and I’m here today to tell you why fur farming should be banned. And first let’s hear a story from a fur farm.

Here I am. When I look around me, I see all these cages piled up. I have my own one too. In every cage there is an animal like me inside it. I hear frustrated screaming all day long. It’s really getting on my nerves. I would like to run free even just for a while. I have only 0,8 square meters space so it’s impossible. I just go around and around and around…. Fast and faster. Trying to forget myself… And then I become angry because I can’t. I’m so overweight that I barely can move. I guess they fed me to this monster-size to get a bigger fur of me. Sometimes I’m so angry that I even bite my own tail. I think I’m becoming crazy. If I could, I would cry. Cry because of this pain that hurts me. Cry because seeing other animals being killed in front of my eyes. Cry because I know I’m going to be killed too. Cry because there is a beautiful world outside, but this cage is the only one I’m ever going to know. And cry because I don’t want to live anymore. But I’m an animal, I can’t cry. “It’s just an animal”, they say.

This story could be and is a daily life of many animals in fur industry. Their lives are just tools to get money. How far can we go just because of money? Can we really live our lives with our eyes closed of all the bad that is happening to these animals? Is it really necessary to have a dead animal’s fur on you?

In my opinion, fur farming should be banned. Furs are luxury products that people don’t even need. And I hope that you all share this same opinion with me, and if not yet, at least after this speech. But I know there are a lot of people who aren’t against fur farming and even tend to defend it. So first, let me tell you and all the defenders some facts about it.

In many European countries, fur farming has been restricted or it’s already banned. Some countries have also set the prohibition of importation for furs. Fur farming is banned for example in the UK, Austria, Slovenia and Croatia. Recently, in January 2018 Norway also made the decision to ban fur farming by 2025 and thus being the 14^th country in Europe to ban fur farming.

European Commission’s Scientific Committee on Animal Health and Animal Welfare (SCAHAW) established a report in 2001 on the conditions of the animals in fur farming. SCAHAW stated that there are problems on the welfare of all species in fur industry. It proposed numerous measures to improve the living conditions of fur animals. However, during all these years, the conditions haven’t amended. At the same time the published photos and videos show the shocking reality in the fur farms.

I can sadly tell you that our country has been unwilling to improve the conditions of these animals even slightly. The animal welfare act does not secure the wellbeing of the animals. Adherence to the law is not regularly supervised, and when it is, problems show up in most farms.

It’s not a surprise that the common problems that appear are related to the health of the animals. The animals usually suffer from many physical and behavioral abnormalities. They are kept in small cages which means they are not able to express their basic natural behavior such as running, digging and predating. In zoos, the space requirement for foxes is at least 600 square meters but in fur farms it’s only under one square meter. The lack of being able to express their nature and inability to hide causes stress to the animals. And stress induces stereotypical behavior for example repetitive circling.

One reason, why fur farming isn’t already banned in Finland is money. And that is a reason, why some people and even politicians and state officials are for fur farming. Fur industry has been quite a big part of the economy. Fur farming produces significant annual income and is an important employer in some parts of the country-side. However, according to Pellervo’s economic research, fur farming employs directly and indirectly just 4500 person-years. 4500 person-years is a lot less than the 17 000 that some politicians have incorrectly stated. Even though fur farming employs people and is a productive source of livelihood, it’s very problematic. Securing money and jobs are very weak arguments in this kind of ethical situation. It’s impossible to make fur farming an ethical form of economy with any acts so that it’ll still be profitable. That is an absurd equation. However, time goes on and we should let fur farming, an old-fashioned source of livelihood, stay far behind. Industries change, and we should find new, no animals harming ways to earn money. I suggest that we ban fur farming with a transition period and make the conditions for the animals be the best possible ones during that time. That’s what many countries in Europe have already done.

One could ask what a single person can do to make a difference. There are actually many ways to influence. The most important thing is to boycott fur in fashion. We, the consumers are together a big group that makes the markets. You can also sign the petition for a new animal welfare act on www.elainlaki.fi. It is also important to raise awareness on the problems in fur industry. The next step one can do is to support animal rights’ associations such as Animalia and Oikeutta eläimille.

You might feel that one person’s actions don’t have much impact and that it is insignificant to do anything. We aren’t always aware of our power that seems only like one drop in the ocean. But all the little drops are the ones that form even the greatest oceans. That is why we should not give up. And for that reason, we should not be quiet of the grievances in this world. Making a difference is not easy but as long as we are being silent, nothing will ever change.

Thank you for listening.

resources:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJTGC1KxWPE

The article about Norway banning fur farming:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/01/18/norway-set-become-first-nordic-country-ban-fur-farming/

Fur Free Alliance:

https://www.furfreealliance.com/fur-farming/

https://www.furfreealliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Factsheet_Animal-welfare-problems-in-fur-farming.pdf

https://www.furfreealliance.com/fur-bans/

Animalia ry

Oikeutta Eläimille

European Green Party: