Market for velvet

[urbpan]

I knew that there were deer farms around the world (New Zealand's are semi-famous) and it doesn't surprise me to learn that there are "elk" (American elk, or wapiti Cervus elaphus) farms in the United states. [http://www.elkusa.com/Elk_Farming.htm] What surprised me is that there is a market for antler velvet--the Asian medicine market-- and that the elk farmers surgically remove it, so that their bucks will grow a fresh crop every year. Is this a good time to ranch rhinos and harvest their horns?

(I'm mostly kidding. My attitude about such things is expressed here.)

Comments

[cottonmanifesto.livejournal.com]

it's time to start harvesting the HUMAN HORN.

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

They grow back, right?

[cottonmanifesto.livejournal.com]

you know, i'm not sure about that ... let me do some research.

[bellisaurius.livejournal.com]

I've never been a big fan of vanity stuff in general (I don't like furs, but if they're farm raised I only find it distasteful as opposed to immoral), but as these things go, it seems relatively harmless, the deer lives, and the stuff grows back.

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

I haven't brought up fur on my journal yet (big ol' can o' worms) but it strikes me as a (potentialy) very practical product. Granted, it's primary use these days is vanity, not warmth.

How to obtain the fur is a moral sticking point, since I suspect that fur farm animals live pretty miserable, stress-filled lives, while trapping makes the animal miserable, too (for a shorter period of time) and has the risks of by-catch, and animals mutilating themselves to escape. I assume normal hunting (with projectile weapons) is not usually done to obtain fur because of the risk of damaging it with bullets and blood and whatnot.

[bellisaurius.livejournal.com]

Yeah, fur is probably a touchy topic because even if it's practical, people will argue about the fact alternatives exist and what-not. I find it hard to disagree with them.

However, since I accept the concept of farm animals for food and leather (even the mass farm stuff. I don't know if the smaller ecological footprint makes up for the increased discomfort. Hell, I don't even know how to calculate that sort of moral equation), I can't find any really compelling moral argument to not allow farm raised fur.

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

Gotcha. My argument against fur farming (not that I have one yet, but if and when I do) would be based on biochemistry. Domestic animals are artificially selected for exhibiting less stress in captivity. When experiments to do the same were conducted on fur animals, the fur quality diminished. Therefore I assume that fur farm animals are genetically identical to wild animals, and suffer greater amount of stress in captivity than food production animals do.

These nuances are why PETA is popular: they simply say "all uses of animal are unethical," and leave no room for arguments. (except for the pet-owner argument--handily ignored in the PETA catalog, which is full of pet supplies)

[cottonmanifesto.livejournal.com]

iirc, the quality didn't diminish unless you need monochromatic fur. i guess the fancy ladies don't want dappled fox-fur coats.

[spocks-girl.livejournal.com]

Never, ever, underestimate the power of imagination, or as it's known in medical circles, placebo.

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

So I should invest in a sugar plantation, not a rhino ranch?

[spocks-girl.livejournal.com]

No, you invest in plantations producing Saccharum officinarum extract, and issue press releases saying S. officinarum extract has been recognized by the medical community to cure (impotence, infertility, the vapors, etc). Now in convenient capsule form!

It's all in the wording.

[dragonwrites.livejournal.com]

I can't imagine the logistics of surgically removing anything from a bunch of elk (and I once assisted in the removal of a calf's horns as well as presiding at a disasterous attempt to clip the rotten hooves of a sheep living in too-wet conditions).

I seem to recall that reindeer/caribou shed their antler velvet naturally every year. Wouldn't it make more sense to harvest that, since reindeer are already domesticated? Not that the situation makes much sense at all...

[bellelvsbeast.livejournal.com]

You know I don't like how people need to kill animals to "get it on" but maybe it's better that they are trying to do it while keeping the animals alive...
But yea...:P