This morning I bought a pair of boots from a well known store (brand names at bargain prices...) I was attracted by the fact that they were comfy and only £20! However this afternoon I went out wearing them and on closer inspection the trim which I assumed was fake fur actually looks more like real fur to me. It also feels more like real fur. Now I am concerned - does anyone know, is it likely to be real, the boots say made in Italy. Not a make I have heard of. I happily wear leather shoes but am worried that fur production may involve more cruelty, and of course if it is real fur, from what animal?

It is probably rabbit fur :)

If it is Rabbit (most likely) then it is a by product of meat production, like leather.  I ahve no probelm at all with leather sheepskin or rabbit fur.

Yes I think you are right, it is awfully similar to the coat of our 2 pet rabbits!! I don't have a problem with that either, but of course would hope that all animals are humanely treated and killed. 

I bought an expensive bag this year assuming that it was fake fur but most people who have seen it are convinced it is real fur.  It looks and feels firghteningly like my old pet rabbit but I didn't think this designer used real fur.  I've been telling myself that if it ever belonged to a real rabbit the dog would have taken more notice of it (even though she doesn't bother about leather shoes etc)

I've been telling myself that if it ever belonged to a real rabbit the dog would have taken more notice of it (even though she doesn't bother about leather shoes etc)

In one of many attempts to get my oldest Malinois to retrieve, I bought an old rabbit fur collar on Ebay a few years ago, cut it up and turned it into dummies. ALL the dogs go MAD for it, even those that wouldn't normally look twice at any toy. It's really old, was sold as vintage clothing, but they most definitely still recognise it as a rabbit.

Can you remember the green parkas that were around in the 70's, the hoods were trimmed in rabbit fur.  I remembered that when I saw that the jackets over the last few years all had fake fur trim around the hoods.

Does anyone remember the afghan coats of the same era????? I had one - and every time it got wet, it absolutely stunk!!! Years later I smelled the same smell and could identify it .....it was wet goat:rolleyes:

Mind you, it was luvverly ....all shaggy fur round the edges and luvverly embroidery down the front ......it would just come together over my bump (wore it during 2 pregnancies) - looked like Marianne Faithfull, with the high white boots as well - but I'll bet MF didn't smell the same :D :D :D

Margot

I still have my Afghan coat in mum's loft!

My brother had one and my parents used to make him leave it in the garage if he had been wearing it in wet weather :D

Ooh anyone remember the Liver birds, and the brother of one of them bred rabbits and kept adding them to his coat?

I remember the Liver Birds :)

Yes I remember the Liver Birds :)  remember the brother with the rabbits too but don't remember him adding them to his coat :D

His coat was definitely made of the fur from his rabbits, and I think he was saving them up to make another one.

I'd like to think it was rabbit fur too, but unfortunately, although we may not want to think about it, many small fur items or fur lined items sold in this country are made with fur from dogs and cats from China.

I have looked with suspicion at those sleeping cat things - can't say they are toys more like ornaments.  They have a battery inside and the cat looks as if it is breathing.  I picked one up on a stall and turned it over to look at the label.  The guy was quite shirty with me when I said I wanted to know what materials they were made from.  That video was awful - I have been to china and we were told not to be surprised to see dogs in cages in the market.  We actually didn't see any.

When I worked for a retail outlet that sold those cats in basket things we asked what they were made of. The answer horrified us. It was cat :( I thought they had been made illegal to sell in this country?

My daughter had bought one and wondered why the dog ripped it to shreds.

I can verify that - I won't go into details but most of the fur ornaments coming out of China and Korea are made from cat and dog fur - Trevor was even offered a bed spread made from Golden Retrievers last time he was out there .

Please do not be tempted to buy anything like this ....without a market this foul trade would stop.

Yvonne

No wonder that guy got shirty with me - I probabally wasn't the first person to ask - it didn't say what they were made from and he denied that they were real fur.  Really felt like it too me.

In my view if  anyone is at all suspicious that whatever they buy is trimmed with dog or cat fur, it would be best to take it back and make a stand as a consumer - it isn't right that dogs and cats are kept and killed in shocking conditions just for  a trim

I keep an eye out but have not yet seen it on anything I might want to buy...

Lindsay
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