Is using mohair fur okay?

I agree with JessiFlakes, I don't like that the skin of the goat is used for making real mohair wigs T_T
If no animals were harmed/killed for making the wig, then it is ok for me.

 

being married to a farmer's son (with lots of friends who farm) most of the animals people want to protect by not using for food would be killed as a nuisance if they weren't being raised for a specific purpose. there is no land available for huge herds of livestock that are completely useless. also they treat their animals very well because there is a lot more money in keeping the animals healthy then mistreating them and having sick/dead animals. (and yes there are always some idiots who mistreat animals, there are also people who mistreat other people) it just doesn't make economic sense to mistreat them and money talks. i have no problem with using animal by products raised for food, i've SEEN how they are raised/treated.

 

You have a really good point here! Most people who raise animals do take care of them. People who are against animal slaughter are more concerned with how these animals are slaughtered really. And, of course, those people do mistreat their animals, as you said. Animals are living things, and they should at least be killed and raised properly. Smaller farmers who raise what they can handle and they take care of what animals they have, I applaud them. My best friend and her family raise cows for food, and sell the meat and what not. I know how it's done, essentially. But then, there are big companies who do terrible things for the sake of money, and yes, money talks.
These animals ARE raised for food, and that's their purpose, to be eaten and for their byproducts to be used. As long as it's done properly, I have no problem with it.

However, the thought of having animal skin on my doll's head DOES freak me out a bit. It's still skin that was once on a living thing. xwx; I can't explain much beyond that why I don't like it, but I definitely prefer synthetic and fiber wigs.

 

Personally for me, I'd be more concerned by how the animal lived than the fact that it died and part of it ended up becoming a wig. I might not personally use mohair because it would weird me out (I have no idea why but I can eat all the meat I want, wear leather boots but holding fur freaks me out), but for people where that isn't an issue I don't...see the issue? So long as the animal lived and died humanely and all parts were used, there isn't a whole lot of ethical concern there.

I suppose if you're against animals dying for humans <i>period</i> then it may be an issue, but I prefer to focus on animals at least being treated well first before we worry about the way their corpses are used after the fact.

 

My view on mohair is kind of... I don't know. I could see where someone could say I was an ignorant person because I just.. don't think about it. Thinking about it while reading this post and some of the replies I think that if the animal is being consumed (for eating/clothing/whatever) why not use as much of the animal as possible and leave as little waste as possible.
However, I don't know what happens to the animals whose fur is used for the wig making... maybe they are killed just for the pelt and while that makes me feel uncomfortable and sad in a way, on the other hand - I did not kill the animal. I know this view is not the best, "Oh well the blood isn't on my hands, so I don't mind." I am even sort of ashamed to admit that I do feel this way. I am a lover of animals and I would be appalled if someone killed cats and dogs or horses for something like this, but for some reason as far as the goats used for the mohair it doesn't strike me the same way. Maybe because I have never been involved with that particular animal? I do think that if the animal was killed to simply use the pelt and the rest of the animal was not consumed that s shameful, however... how could you tell the difference between a pelt that is derived from simply murdering an animal for it's fur or a pelt that was gotten from consuming the whole animal without personally being there to witness it?

Also, the thing about people digging up a man's grandmother's remains... sick and wrong. What is wrong with people? He runs a testing facility and you find it inhumane, so you dig up his grandma? What does that have to do with animals/animal cruelty?

 

Mohair- The term is often used incorrectly- mohair is the fur of the angora goat termed in the 1700s when used for the ladies (and mens) court wigs. The fur also commonly called mohair (but is in fact skin) is Tibetan lamb. I am opposed to using this fur because it comes not from full grown mature sheep who had a life and near the end are used for food, but it is from the young lambs. Being prized for its curly soft texture these wigs will have skin attachment on them (most of the time- some are now cutting it off the skin and sewing on a cap, but it is only available to buy in skin form). (Yes - Peta will certainly be against using it).
Since I am in the mohair business and we buy our hair from repudable farms who sheer in the late spring and leave a humane cape the longest back ridge of hair falls down over the goat in case of a chilly night). I had long been on the hunt for a Tibetan farmer/herder who would sheer and I could buy the hair and weft it to use, but for reasons unknown, maybe the harsh climate, possibly for the increased work load they will not do it.
I think it is a consious decision for each person to make on thier own. I dont eat veal, others do. I dont judge another for thier decision, but for myself I choose to use sheared hair

 

How do you feel about using a mohair wig on your doll?
Never ever will. I don't buy or wear fur, leather, wool, or even silk sometimes.

Does it go against what you believe?
As a veg yes.

A lot of people give me the reason that "sheep/llamas/whatever have to be sheared". Of course, nature and breeding has made them for that purpose. It is the way that companies do the shearing that is inhumane. Farmers are paid by weight, so the more they have the more they get paid. This means shearing their animals as fast as they can to get the most amount of profit. And quick hands make sloppy work so many times the animals get nicked and hurt in this process. Also to up their profit farmers cram as many animals as they can in their farms. Animals no longer live happily in a pasture; farming has become this scary factory system. And lastly I'm sickened by the inhumane "mulesing" method where they cut off the "butt" of the sheep without any anesthesia. (You can find more information via Google.)

I avoid wearing wool or mohair or whatever animal fibre not because I believe the animals shouldn't get sheared but because I am avoiding a system that hurts animals. Does this mean there aren't good and gentle farmers? Sure. Unless you are doing the shearing or you can purchase from a local farmer that you know is humane, there is no way to avoid the "bad" stock. Most of us go to chain stores so you never really know where the wool came from. I just rather avoid it totally and not take that chance.

I'm very passionate about being veg and it is up to me to decide how I live my life, what I buy, or choose to avoid. In the same breath, it is up to you how you live your life or what you choose to buy for your doll. Will I like it? No, but I won't condemn you either. If you want to ask me about being veg I don't mind sharing and I could probably go on for hours. That is the only reason why my post is as long as it is. LOL "Ask and ye shall receive."

So I hope this helps you understand why some people avoid it... I wouldn't want to shove it down your throat. Just like I wouldn't want someone to preach at me. I don't think that spreads the right message and it ends up being hostile.

 

In my opinion, i hear everyone saying that its okay if we also use that animal for food its okay, but id like to specify that i feel like its only okay if that particular individual animal was also used for food, its sorta okay. God let us eat meat so dont waste their parts, use everything you can. I dont agree with it though if lets say one sheep is butchered for food and then a different one is butchered for the fur. I personally dont like how we mass raise animals just to slaughter them, thats not kind of life. But as humans are part of the great life cycle, we also have a right to hunt. Just not mass slaughter.

In essense, its okay if it was done in a way that was not wasteful or sad.

P.s. I am a mostly a vegetarian but im not like an activist or anything. I just believe what my heart tells me. Lions gotta eat, so do hyenas and they eat what they do the way they do it. And i think thats fine, they do what they need to or what they dont really need to. Its just the matter of why.

 

For me most mohair are wool and not fur (Ilive in a place where plenty of shhep is bred for cheese (Roquefort ! ), so now they are "nude" and in winter in their woolly coat, and I suppose its the same for goats.
I only use vintage fur of domestic or human-raised animals for my LARPG costumes and my doll's ones, and it's really easy to be sure it's vintage and not new ones in disguise : the price on a fur piece or old coat in a fleamarket is clearly not the same !
I twice did my own pelt when a hunter gave me rabbits, it's rather easy even if the result wasn't great (but the civet -cooked rabbit- was good !).
And Blodeuwedd, foie gras from a farm (not industrial ones) are producted in a much less cruel manner than most of the industrial eggs from hens caged in boxes nearly smaller than them, as geese and ducks are outdoor most of their lives, not stressed and fed with natural products.

 

I believe that using mohair is very good, as it shows that no part of the animal is wasted,
In my opinion, what's wrong is killing the animal for the sole purpose of getting the fur, but if the whole animal is used, as in meat for food, fur for clothing, and bones for decorations or tools, It is better that way, than just eating the meat and then throwing away usable animal by-products...

and also, It would also help if the animal was slaughtered in a humane way (a painless, swift death). I just hate those small scale slaughterhouses that give animals slow, painful death, after being weakened by transportation etc... DX

 

Most of the time, things that aren't in our visual does not hurt but once we see or get to know the cruel side of it, it will turn us off and make us wonder. i think ignorance is a bliss. Everything happen for a reason. As for the Mohair wigs, i'm pretty sure the goats aren't killed just to make wigs only. They serve a bigger purpose.

 

Interesting subject I gotta say, never thought of this.

But to me... I really don't see a reason why I should feel guilty or bad for my Beylas mohair wig, it's beautiful, I love it to bits and I believe that the goat it's from deffinetly didn't die only for the wig only just like sharboy said. :/

If the wig would be made from fox, mink, sable ect. who are not used entirely, just killed for the fur, I would be worried.

But ofc there is no simple answer to all this, everyone must decide what they see ethical and what they don't. My opinion is that if the animal (in this case goat or sheep) is used wholely I have no reason to feel bad 'cause the animal has already been usefull in every way.

And one more thing to the fur issue: I love animals but I do use fur in my dolls clothes, but just the ones that I find second hand. Because using faux fur destroys everything much more (like mentioned at the page 12) than the piece of animal skin I found hanging from coat hanger at the fleemarket for free.

 

Speaking as a passionate animal lover and a wholehearted supporter of ethical this and that - just a reminder that synthetic fiber is produced by the means of a complex chemical process from oil. The damage to the environment caused by this production, as well as the socio-economic and political abuses in the oil-producing countries are perfectly comparable to the abuses against animals. Basically, it's a pick your poison kind of life we lead in modern society, nobody stays innocent.

 

yes it is okay.

 

I don't have any opposition to mohair in most cases. If the animal is used for more than just its fur, then it is fine. I don't agree with ill treatment of animals, but I don't mind if they're killed and we're actually going to use their parts

 

also, as Katyok says, synthetic fiber used in wigs is more harmful to the environment. And probably kills just as many if not more organisms

 

I eat meat, I wear leather boots so I don't see the reason why not to use all the parts of animal that was killed.

 

I'm sorry, but I have to point out some of the misconceptions you are hiding behind.

Sheep shearers are very gentle to the animals that they shear. They have been trained and have years of experience in doing what they do. When they cut and nick the sheep, the cut is no different to one that a person might get shaving. It might smart for a moment, but the pain quickly fades as the wound is superficial. In fact, it is less painful to a sheep than to a human, as sheep have natural bio-oils in their skin (lanolin) that act as both a soother and an antibacterial agent.

Sheep have evolved in a symbiotic relationship with humans - the relationship is beneficial to the sheep herd as a whole to have another animal look after it and protect the flock. The wool is an 'enticer' to get humans to protect and care for the animal. The humans may have exploited the relationship, but the sheep still benefits as the population numbers of sheep have grown exponentially and are continuing to do so. They also have an expanded range - they exist pretty much everywhere that humans do - as opposed to their evolutionary range. Similar relationships exist with most herded animals and humans. Because humans are biologically engineered to herd other animals, the animals have evolved in a way to exploit that instinct in humans. (Cows producing more milk than their young needs, chickens laying an egg a day whether fertilized or not and so forth.) The humans give the animals protection from predators and help the species grow.

Yes, the relationship is being exploited now by humans, but don't fool yourself into thinking that it's just the humans getting something out of the relationship. There are also ways to make this exploitation less feasable (read: profitable) by doing research and only buying humane products. An absolute boycott of meat and animal product actually damages the species that you are trying to protect.

A final note: I'm not sure if we're talking about the same process here or not, but a note on 'docking'. Docking is the process by which a metal ring is placed around a sheep's tail or (in the case of a male sheep) testicles. The placement of the ring does not hurt the animal, and eventually the decreased blood flow to the area causes the part of the animal in question to fall off. The animal feels no pain at any part of the proceedure, and the proceedure itself is exactly the same one that gets used on humans to remove unwanted growths such as haemmohroids.

The docking of a sheep's tail is also something that needs to be done for the health of the sheep, as the woll on the tail creates a veritable breeding ground for parasites and disease that otherwise would have made the sheep sickly and weak, and in most cases decimated the numbers of the herd when the disease was passed on. Selective breeding makes the herd itself stronger, as only the best males are allowed to pass on their genetic material.

 

My opinion on the use of mohair...I'm not a fan of mohair, not because of the ethical reasons (though those are valid too!) but because I don't like the look of it. I'm a big fan of synthetic wigs for my dolls, because I like the look and feel of it better than a "real" hair wig. Same goes for when I wear wigs! I can't stand natural wigs, synthetic feels so much better to me.

 

How do you feel about using a mohair wig on your doll?
It doesn't bother me one bit. I like the look of mohair wigs and don't even think about what they're made out of. I don't care about the materials at all.

Does it go against what you believe?
As someone who eats meat, wears leather, and has no problem with people wearing fur(I personally don't because it's too puffy and tickly for my tastes), I can't really say it goes against my beliefs. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for being against animal cruelty and all, but I'm not completely obsessed with it.