What Schumacher Won't Tell You About the Fur Industry:

MYTH: Schumacher says, "I think the city has failed to capture or understand the essence of our situation. Many of these people are simply anarchists." said Schumacher.

FACT: These activists are not "simply anarchists," they are animal welfare supporters with an important educational message to pass on to the public and the city of Portland is correct in protecting their 1^st Amendment rights.

On average, it takes 40 to 100 animal deaths to make one fur coat. 31,000,000 animals are killed on fur farms every year, the majority of which are mink. As semi–aquatic predators native to North America, mink need to spend their days swimming and roaming on a range of two and a half acres. However, on fur farms, they are kept in cages that average only 10 inches wide by 24 inches long. It doesn't take long in these cramped conditions for severe psychological implications to manifest. Caged mink engage in neurotic behavior such as pacing, tail–biting and other self–mutilation tactics, and they develop stomach ulcers and enlarged adrenal glands, which are both a sign of prolonged stress. It is also common for them to die from heat, poor sanitation, or cannibalism. Or, they can wait for pelting season to be gassed, violently injected with poison, or have their necks broken — all in the name of fashion.

Foxes are also kept in intensive confinement that induces neurotic behavior like cannibalism. If they live until pelting season they will be killed via anal electrocution. 4,500,000 foxes are killed for the new line of outerwear every year.

Moreover, every year there are approximately 10,000,000 animals trapped in the wild using cruel traps that leave them to die in severe pain. One of these traps is the leg–hold trap. When an animal wanders into one of these traps it slams down on its paw, causing serious injury that is only worsened as they struggle to break free. Within the first 30 minutes of capture, a trapped animal can tear her flesh, rip tendons, break bones, and even knock out teeth as she bites the trap to escape. Some animals even bite off their own limbs in a desperate attempt to escape; otherwise, they will spend the next three days bleeding, in pain, hunger, and dehydration waiting for the trapper to return. Of course, this death is equally as horrendous. If a trapped animal is still alive, the trapper will shoot them in the head, stomp on their chest, or beat in their skulls until they are dead.

Although 74 percent of Americans oppose the use of the leg–hold trap and 88 countries have banned its use, it is still in common use today in the United States.

This is where a fur coat comes from. This is why people are outraged. This is why they are standing up to the businesses that torture animals to further their economic interests. Labeling their actions as "anarchy" or terrorism is only a way in which an animal enterprise can avoid the issues and terminate the debate about animal cruelty by personally attacking animal advocates. (What does "anarchy" really mean anyways?)