After some 30-odd years of tracking animal activists and speaking out for the fur trade (and some of those years were quite “odd” indeed!), I have learned two important things. First: we members of the fur family are very proud of who we are and what we do. Second: most of the public knows almost nothing about us; in fact, they have rarely heard from us at all!

Truth About Fur was created to address this serious shortcoming. When North American auction houses, trade and breeder associations met to plan this project, the first goal we identified was “to take back control of our own story”. We pledged to give a voice to the fur trade ... and to put a human face on our industry!

Fur Family Profiles

Why is it important to put “a human face” on the fur trade? Because it is easy for Joe Public to believe activist claims that trappers or farmers are cruel or irresponsible if they’ve never met one. It is much harder to believe such lies when they can see and hear real trappers and farmers speaking for themselves. That’s why the farmer and trapper video “profiles” are such an important part of our Truth About Fur website.

We can be proud that, in little more than a year, TruthAboutFur.com is making its mark. More than 12,000 people visited over the past few months, with 42% of traffic coming from the USA, 38% from Canada, and 20% international. Most important: journalists, consumers, political authorities, students and other researchers are now using our site.

Meanwhile our Facebook page recently topped 10,000 “likes”, and we're also active in a bunch of other social media: Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube.

Now it’s time to take Truth About Fur to another level, and for this we need your help! We are creating an on-line Fur Family Photo Album and we want your old and new pictures: Grandad’s first mink farm, a beautiful day on the trap-line, Aunt Eve sewing the lining into a new fur coat.

Our photo album will serve two main purposes. For members of the trade, the album will be a place where we can share the pride we all feel for what we do - and for the family members who, more often than not, blazed the trail for us. For the public, the album can help show who we really are - to break the caricature of “the evil trapper/farmer/furrier” that activists would like the public to believe.

Four Generations of Herscovicis

To start the ball rolling, I am happy to contribute two photos.

The first, above, shows my grandfather, Armand Herscovici, examining Persian Lamb skins in his manufacturing atelier, in the early 1950s. Armand came to Canada as a young man, in 1913. He had learned the art of the furrier from his own father, my great grandfather, in Paris, where the family settled after fleeing anti-Semitic violence (pogroms) in Romania. After the Second World War his son and my father, Jack, joined him in “A-J Herscovici Furs Ltd” - the company Jack proudly maintained until his retirement in 1992.

The second, below, shows my father visiting with me at the 2002 NAFFEM, the wonderful high-end North American fur show run for the benefit of the whole trade by the Canadian Fur Trade Development Institute (CFTDI) in Montreal for 30 years, until 2013. In 2014, it morphed into StyleLab-Montreal.

Now it’s your turn! We want your photos, and also the stories behind them. To learn how to send your photos and stories to be posted in our new on-line album, please go to Fur Family Album Submission Requirements.

Let’s show the world the true face of the North American fur trade!

Let's start the April Fur In The News roundup by talking about one of the most important annual fur hunts: it's SEAL time!

We try and keep this monthly blog post upbeat, but sometimes things need to get serious, so let's start with the sad news: this article paints a very sad picture of how native Greenlanders' livelihood and way of life is being seriously affected by the EU seal ban.

Our least favourite rock star continued his uninformed tirade against the seal hunt. I read last week that Paul McCartney is one of the richest musicians in the world, so maybe he'd like to donate some his hundreds of millions to finding alternative work for all the seal hunters he protests against. Or even better, maybe he could just shut up and mind his own business.

SEE ALSO: EU SEALING POLICY IS HYPOCRITICAL, ANTI-DEMOCRATIC

Our other big April event was Earth Day - and we were sure to remind everyone about how fur is a green, renewable resource that is much less harmful to the planet than most of the alternatives.

More Animal Rights Nonsense

Let's move on to the thorns in our side ... those pesky animal rights activists. But the good news is, they are getting lots of bad press!

PETA's lamb shearing campaign (below) caused outrage, Meanwhile this article is exposing how PETA targets children in its advertising campaigns (this really is sickening). Then PETA stooped to new lows by teaming up with former Baywatch star Pamela Anderson and controversial Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio (known for his total disregard of human rights when treating his prisoners) to promote vegetarian diets for prisoners. This video highlights just how hypocritical this campaign is.

Here are a few more articles questioning the AR movement that are worth reading: "Let the Fur Fly: A call against animal rights extremists," from the Wesleyan Argus; "Why do people value pets over humans?" from Bustle; and
"Exactly what is endangered?" from The Compass.

There have been a lot of news articles talking about how important it is to look at both sides of the story - especially when it comes to issues involving animal rights. This article about a zoo in Vancouver was a prime example of how people can be incredibly misinformed about why zoos exist and how they get their animals. This piece, entitled "Don’t believe everything you see: the truth about undercover videos", explains how activists get their videos and how normal farming practices can be misinterpreted as cruelty. Hopefully we'll be seeing fewer and fewer such videos as legislators move to shut them down; Senate Bill 433, or the Property Protection Act, currently working its way through the North Carolina state legislature, is just one example.

Fur Farming Scores Points

While we are on the subject of farms, we consider it a great victory that the Canadian government is funding mink farm research. Here's a nice profile on a farmer in Ontario, and this article talks about the security threats involved with having a fur farm, threats that don't seem to be slowing down business. (Farmers: 1, Activists: 0.)

Over at the Truth About Fur headquarters, we've been giggling over the animal rights activists attacked by clowns, wondering why an anti-hunting campaign (above) is being fronted by a model in a fur coat cavorting with a live bear, and writing about how we shouldn't make assumptions about political views when it comes to who is pro- and who is anti-fur.

Save the Best for Last

If you find yourself with a bit of extra fur lying around, you may want to consider some new, innovative uses for fur. How about a seal skin g-string? Or check out this crow who steals panda fur to line his nest.

Our most popular videos this month were this one of a vet trying to save a buck who is drowning from the weight of a dead buck whose antlers are locked with his (this is super suspenseful!), and this one of a bear trying to eat a fake deer.

Our favourite trapping photo is of these guys and their amazing beaver catch (above) from Full Response Scents, and the one that touched us most was this one from Minka Minkovitch (below), whose caption reads "Warmth and survival is more important than western propaganda." We wholeheartedly agree.

Let's end this month's roundup with a warning for anyone traveling to New York City or Sweden: watch out for coyotes in apartment buildings and beavers attacking bus passengers.

I’ve been told I’ve caught the "fur bug", and I couldn’t agree more. I’m not only in love with this beautiful, natural material, but I’m also attracted by the industry. People living off the land, small family businesses, and the fact that I’m welcomed with open arms in farms, auction houses and design studios around the world, make me so happy to be a part of the international fur family.

But there’s been one thing that’s been annoying me and I think it's time to set the record straight.

Tree Huggers and Lefties

As a campaigner for fur, I’ve been called a few nasty things by animal activists, but what annoys me most is when people in our trade refer to “tree huggers” and “lefties” as being the enemies of the fur trade.

For the record, I’m not what you would call a “tree hugger” (I find that people are much better for hugging!), but I am a tree lover and I’m sending as much love as possible towards the forests. I love nature and I want to protect it, and it strikes me as so strange that animal activists are referred to as “tree huggers” as an insult.

Aren’t all you hunters, trappers and farmers also tree "huggers” or lovers in your own way? You want to protect the land and nature too, don’t you? Where will we hunt and trap if all of the forests are cut down?

Proud to Be Left

When it comes to politics, I’m definitely “left of center” and proud of it. So are a lot of people working in the fur industry, notably Mark Oaten, CEO of the International Fur Federation.

Mark is a former senior member of the Liberal Democrats, the third-largest political party in the UK. To clarify for those of you not familiar with British politics, the Lib Dems make the US Democratic Party look like Tea Party activists by comparison.

And yet ... he and I, and many other “lefties”, love fur and dedicate a part of our lives to ensuring that this industry thrives and grows.

So why the "leftie" jibes? Why do some of us use “tree hugger” as an insult?

SEE ALSO: WHY I WISH I DIDN'T LOATHE ANIMAL RIGHTS' ACTIVISTS

Let’s save our insults for the people who are trying to destroy the industry we love.

Just because I’m a staunchly left, female, half-Muslim immigrant that loves trees, doesn’t mean I can't also succumb to the fur bug. It doesn't mean I can't also love fur, farmers, trappers, and the wonderful history and traditions of this industry.

Let’s embrace the diversity of the international fur family and use our energy to ensure that this industry thrives and continues to succeed for as many years as people have been wearing fur. That’s a long time, by the way.

It’s April, so let’s start our Fur in the News roundup for March with Canada Goose, maker of some of the world's finest winter jackets. Unfortunately Canada Goose is now making headlines for the wrong reason.

“A complaint filed with the Competition Bureau alleges Canada Goose makes 'false and misleading' claims in the marketing of its popular winter jackets. Animal Justice - an animal rights group that filed the complaint on behalf of six individuals - disputes the company's claims that its jackets use coyote fur that is ethical and that coyotes are killed humanely," reported The Record from Toronto. It seems like the complaint doesn’t have a coyote leg to stand on, but we are watching this closely nonetheless.

And since I’m on the topic of wild Canadian fur, my favourite article this month was from Al-Jazeera, who did this well researched article entitled Canada’s Wild Fur Trade Returns. It has lots of pretty pictures, too (like the one above)! Let’s hope people start to appreciate the wild furs from up North, so the business booms and the people there can afford the $65 chickens in their grocery stores.

If you are planning on doing some shopping soon, we suggest these fur headphones from Dolce & Gabbana, a steal at $8,000 ;-) You could also check out the goods from Elama, a Montreal-based fur brand that has been making waves, order a custom-made piece from Diane Giroux (she wrote a blog post for us this month), or step into Harpers in Bridgeport, Connecticut, which has just celebrated 75 years in fur retailing.

Recruiting on Campus

Meanwhile, we learnt a few worrying things about what’s happening on university campuses.

First, this article from Protect The Harvest tells how activists are campaigning on campuses to try and recruit. Then we heard about this (absolutely ridiculous) course on feminist animal rights at George Mason University.

We’ve also found out that Parsons School of Design in New York has at least one instructor who could do with a refresher course on the meaning of primary research. An adjunct professor wrote a scathing article about the fur industry and its farming, but appears never to have actually visited a farm.

Lastly, I’m typing this from a desk in Finland, where I am guest lecturing at Centria University in Pietersaari, one of very few universities in Europe that offer a technical fur design course. I’ll be reporting back to you about details of its students' work, this amazing course and the incredible campus.

Brrrrrrr...aless!

We can’t do a monthly fur roundup without making fun of the activists, so here’s a video of two girls protesting for PETA, half naked on an ice rink. Too bad they don’t know how to skate or that ice skates are made from leather. Wouldn't it be nice for once if PETA tried to get the public's attention without naked women or falsified farm videos?

Our most popular blog post this month was entitled After 50 Years, Fur Trade Turns Tables on Activists which documents the history of the battle with activists, and how the fur industry is gaining on them. It seems like The Telegraph, The Guardian, Vice and The Daily Beast agree. Go fur go!

And PETA suffered a major defeat when a bill to reduce the kill rates in its "shelters" passed in the Virginia House of Representatives. Let’s hope other states follow suit.

Meanwhile across the pond, a few annoying Brits are ruffling feathers, or shall I say, ruffling pelts. Joanna Lumley and ex-model Twiggy are campaigning to convince London department store Harvey Nichols not to reverse its fur ban. Given the popularity of the Origin Assured label and the fact that fur is a fashionable and profitable product to be selling, I doubt that's going to happen.

And the most annoying Brit of the month award (actually, second most annoying Brit since PETA president Ingrid Newkirk owns the title) goes to Stella McCartney, who not only showed a tacky collection of fake fur coats on her Fall 2015 runway, but is also trying to convince the Queen's Guard to replace their bear skin caps with fake fur.

At the Movies

March was a great month for video content. We loved Fur Insider’s roundup of fur fashion street style from New York Fashion Week.

Then there was the hilarious “Why I Hate PETA” cat video (below) featuring a tune that is still stuck in my head!

And we aren’t surprised that this video from Katmai Natural Park & Reserve of a wolf and bear fishing has had almost two million views. It’s an example of nature at its finest.

Great Greenland has made an amazing video about their seal hunt, and here’s another one about the seal hunt in the Magdalen Islands.

Lastly, let’s look at the most popular images of the month. The awesome guy above got over 250 likes on our Facebook page! I’m not sure if it was because you all thought he was cute or if you want to make him into a scarf.

And this photo of a farmer saving a calf born in the snow by bringing him into the hot tub warmed our hearts (and the calf’s heart, too, I'm sure). It's a good reminder that livestock farmers aren’t the monsters activists portray them as, but rather are some of the hardest working, most compassionate people in the world - not to mention the fact they put food on our table!

Parting Shot

P.S.: If you've read this article to the end, you probably somewhat enjoyed it or at least thought it was interesting, so please sign up here to Truth About Fur - The Blog, so future articles are delivered straight to your inbox!

As the cold weather settles in for another few months, I cuddle in my small country home on the Bay of Fundy. I put on my beaver house-boots and my wool sweater and thank Mother Nature for offering me all I need to keep us warm.

Living in a remote community on the Fundy shore, I am awed by the highest tides in the world. Surrounded by nature and silence, I bow to the sea which brings fish and clams to my table, and to the forests that supply firewood to keep my house cosy and wildlife to complement the seafood

My sewing skills make it possible to make clothing and accessories that will keep us comfortable.

Living in harmony with this environment, I relish a dream come true after fantasizing about it through all those years of living in some of the mega-cities of the world, a world surrounded by cement and pollution and so reinvented by humans that they can forget where they come from and who they are.

Real Meaning of Sustainability

I was introduced to fur design by professional furriers and artisans who put their skills at work to produce beautiful garments from a natural and renewable resource. Working in the Northern regions of our beautiful country, I’ve discovered the real meaning of sustainability of our natural resources.

I am thankful to the organizations who oversee good management and a respectful attitude toward our natural resources.

I am disappointed by negative and false information still spread by some organizations, sadly giving real environmentalism a bad name while imposing hardship on real people. At a time when “anti-bullying” and other forms of negative behavior are topics of public interest, we should wonder if this sentiment should perhaps apply here.

SEE ALSO: AMAZING FACTS ABOUT FUR: DRESSING FOR THE ARCTIC

Be Strong, Be Proud

While attending a recent event where I was able to display my creations, I was overwhelmed by the interest of people asking questions about the different furs in my booth, and reaching out to touch them. Often I heard the comment: “I am nervous about wearing furs ... someone might attack me on the street”.

I reply that they should be strong and be proud of wearing creations from the natural world. Every time I wear my fur coat, people come to me wanting to know what it’s made of and often comment on how beautiful it is.

Meanwhile, as I’m looking out the window at the ice moving with the tides, I am sewing and transforming a seal pelt from a vision into a beautiful garment.

Do you hate PETA? Of course you do, but take comfort from the fact this has been a bad year for them. And the latest pratfall by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the affair of the "shocked" cat, may even make you smile.

First, there was the whistleblower whose account of her time as a PETA employee exposed their total unwillingness to rehouse animals (and the gruesome kill rate in their "shelter").

Then there was their defeat in Virginia over the right to call themselves an animal "shelter" at all.

And then there's the fact that fur has once again featured large on fashion catwalks this season.

Could it get any worse - or better, depending on your perspective? Yes, it could!

Now there's this funny, well-made video slamming PETA for their ridiculous attempt to have an earlier video (of a cat being "shocked" with animated electricity) removed from the web.

The cat, of course, was never shocked at all, but Why I Hate PETA is shocking nonetheless. It's shocking that PETA waste their resources threatening people who make comic YouTube videos about their cat! If I donated to PETA (and I'd rather flush my money down the toilet than do this), I'd be annoyed that staff were wasting time doing things like this, rather than, say, saving animals.

Oh yes, PETA don't do that. They just kill them.

WARNING: The song will get stuck in your head, but it's worth it. The video is hilarious!

February 2015 has come and gone, and it's time for our Fur In The News roundup of the month's best stories. It's a furry time of year in the fashion world right now. For starters, we are still in the depths of winter and furs are all over the streets.

On the high fashion front, February is the start of fashion month, when the top catwalk designers show their Fall 2015 collections. Who ever said fur is dead was very wrong. (Well, technically the animals are dead, but fur is VERY alive on our catwalks.) Spotted all over New York, London, Milan, and soon, Paris, fur continues to be a staple in the designer collections.

We've got a soft spot for Fendi, who are famous for their furs and showed a collection of fur-trimmed down coats that look like Canada geese on drugs. (You'll also need some drugs to get over the shock of the price tags.) Check out their show on Style.com.

And while we are talking about designers, Pamela Paquin's brand Petit Mort has been getting a lot of press. She makes fur accessories out of road kill, and we love this feature on her finding her "materials." Of course, the animal rights terrorists activists are still kicking up a fuss, so let's talk about them for a moment.

Are They Terrorists? Hell Yes!

Many of us are following the case of Kevin Johnson and Tyler Lang, two animal rights activists who have served prison terms for releasing mink and foxes from fur farms in the US. They are facing federal charges (under the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act) that may result in a further 10 years in prison.

People are debating whether they deserve to be branded as terrorists. We think you all know our feelings on the subject: you terrorize people and their farms, you are a terrorist. Read some articles on the story here and here.

And since we are on the (fun) topic of animal rights activists being charged with felonies, we also suggest reading this article in the New York Times about a woman who stole two ducks from a farm which produces foie gras.

We do loathe giving the activists so many column inches, but we'll end it with this fantastic video aired during the Superbowl. Made by the good people at the Center for Consumer Freedom and PeTA Kills Animals, it was inspired by the horrific kill rates at PeTA's "shelters." Warning: this is a bit of a tear-jerker.

"Fur: An Issue of Life and Death"

February saw the end of a fantastic exhibition on the fur industry, its issues, and its history. Entitled "Fur: An Issue of Life and Death", this show at the National Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen was a fascinating trip into the history of the use of fur, from ancient to modern times.

Featuring a massive collection of high-fashion items, the show certainly demonstrated the innovative designs that can be made from fur. There was a "guess your fur" activity (which demonstrated how fake fur can be good quality, as it was hard to identify which one was not real). Also highlighted were the fur and skin costumes dating from 1850 to 1950 from Greenland, Canada, Alaska, Siberia and the Sami areas of Scandinavia. The seal stomach raincoats were very interesting to see.

And while we are on the topic of seals, the seal hunt continues to make headlines, starting with some negative comments Canadian hockey commentator Don Cherry made about eating seal meat (he should just phoque off).

Seal poutine also made the news, and let's give a round of applause to Conservative MP Greg Kerr who passed bill C-555, which will double the size of the legal buffer that prevents observers from coming near the seal hunt.

Positive Ending

Let's end on an assortment of positive notes.

- We loved that Kid Rock wore an otter coat in order to spite his activist ex-girlfriend Pamela Anderson;

- This is a great little film about one of the US's largest mink farms (pictured below);

- And here is some interesting fur history: an article about 1920's beaver farming.

That's it for now. Spring is only three weeks away so enjoy these last days of winter with your minks, foxes, coyotes, lynx, beavers, and chinchillas, just as long as they aren't fake!

We are the people of the fur trade and we will be silent no longer! That is the new rallying cry of our proud and historic trade, and it's long overdue.

It is hard to believe that the debate about fur has been raging for a full half-century – and a bit troubling to realize that I witnessed it all!

And while it is great to see all the fur on fashion runways and in the streets this winter, we still have a way to go to repair the damage caused by 50 years of activist lies, to reassure consumers that fur is produced responsibly and ethically.

Spotlight on Sealing

It was in March 1964, that a film on Radio-Canada, the French-language network of Canada’s public broadcaster, rocketed the northwest Atlantic seal hunt into the media spotlight for the first time. No matter that the shocking scenes of a live seal being poked by a sealer’s knife (“skinned alive”) would later prove to have been staged for the camera. (1)

In the 50 years that followed, the modus operandi of a lucrative new protest industry was refined: shocking images of questionable origin, celebrities to attract media attention, and emotional fund-raising campaigns that generated piles of money to drive more campaigns.

Markets for sealskins were weakened (with a US import ban in 1972 and a partial European ban in 1983), but the newly formed International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) was soon pulling in $6 million annually – more than 3,000 Canadian sealers made risking their lives on the ice floes each Spring. Greenpeace and other groups jumped onto the gravy train, with help from Brigitte Bardot. (2)

In the 1980s – with wild furs more popular than they had been since the Roaring Twenties – the protesters turned their newly-honed media, fund-raising and political skills against trapping (3), a campaign that resulted in the European Union banning jaw-type “leg-hold” traps, in 1997. No matter that traps used in Europe were untested or that other methods used there to control wildlife (e.g., poisoning muskrats in Belgium and the Netherlands) had far-reaching animal-welfare and environmental consequences. Canadian diplomats were told: “Don’t worry about your scientific studies, don’t you understand that this is about politics?”

While campaigns against sealing and trapping continue, the anti-fur focus has now shifted to calls for a ban on fur farming – but the tactics are the same.

Absent: Voice of the Fur Trade

Throughout this debate, one voice was conspicuously absent: the voice of the people whose livelihoods and reputations were being attacked. There are several reasons for this, including the imperatives of modern media, where confrontation is “news” and “celebrities” are irresistible. Hunters, trappers and farmers, moreover, do not live in cities where most journalists are based, so they are rarely heard.

The structure of the fur trade itself – small-scale, decentralized and artisanal – also made it difficult for the industry to muster an effective response. And it didn’t help that those closest to the media and consumers – retail furriers – have little knowledge of production issues. Asking a furrier about trapping standards makes about as much sense as asking a seafood chef to explain fisheries management policy.

All this is about to change. After 50 years of turning the other cheek, the fur trade is finally speaking out more effectively. Under the banner “Truth About Fur”, fur farmers, trappers, biologists and veterinarians are setting the record straight.

Animal Activists Scrambling

The reaction of animal activists is revealing. Used to having the soapbox to themselves, they are scrambling to block or discredit the industry’s voice. I have experienced this personally.

When we refute lies or misinformation on-line, it doesn’t take long before a cyber-bully tries to shut down discussion. Rather than risk having their dogmatic beliefs shaken by facts, they shoot the messenger. Typical attacks include: “He’s paid to write this, don’t listen to him!” “He’s a fur industry troll!” Recently I was called “a sock puppet”.

SEE ALSO: MINK LIBERATION : 5 FACTS THE ALF DOESN'T WANT YOU TO KNOW

I suppose it is better to be a sock puppet than a marionette, which would mean that someone was pulling my strings. But the bad news for these cyber-bullies is that we are not puppets. We are the people of the fur trade, and we will be silent no longer.

If the vicious lies and slanders leveled by activists against the fur trade for the past 50 years were directed at any other group in society, they would be denounced as hate crimes. It’s time that animal activists were exposed for what they are: intolerant bullies with little understanding of modern environmental thinking.

Aboriginal (or other) trappers do not need lessons about respecting nature from urban activists. Mink farmers do not need lessons about caring for animals from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PeTA). The fur trade is not a crime against nature; it is a prime example of “the responsible and sustainable use of renewable natural resources”, a principle supported by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and every other environmental authority. These are some of the facts that are documented by Truth About Fur.

It is encouraging that close to 500 international designers now include fur in their collections, compared with only about 40 in the early 1990s. And it is wonderful to see people of all ages with coyote and fox trim on their parkas this winter. But it is especially satisfying to know that, whatever people choose to wear, the fur trade’s story is finally being told by the people who live it.

* * *

1) Alan Herscovici, Second Nature: The Animal-Rights Controversy (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 1985; Stoddart Publishing, 1991), p. 74.

2) Herscovici, p. 70.

3) Herscovici, pp. 117-162.

If you've never visited a mink farm before, now is your chance! Zimbal Mink Farm is in Wisconsin, the largest mink-producing state in the US (though Utah is not far behind). The farm is larger than most, but has one thing in common with almost every mink farm in the US: it's a family affair. Now let's meet the third and fourth generations of this mink-farming family ...

BOB ZIMBAL, third-generation mink farmer: So we’re located on the shores of Lake Michigan in Wisconsin, and Wisconsin is actually a great place to raise mink.

Raising mink is a lifestyle as much as a job and when we come out in the morning we look forward to caring for the animals and feeding them and taking care of their needs.

Sixty years ago my grandfather and my father started Zimbal Mink. Mink were just being domesticated, so there was a learning process how to care for the animals and feed the animals. As I child I always helped on the farm, and my father taught me to pay attention to the animals and look at their health and each individual mink’s needs.

My grandfather and my father were kind of pioneers in the industry, teaching and learning what it takes to raise a good-quality mink. And now we’re trying to pass that also the next generation of my sons and my nephew, as they come on to the farm.

The year really begins in the fall of the year where we select the breeders, and it’s all natural breeding on the farm. Breed them in March. And the end of April, beginning of May they have their litters. We are continually monitoring each female to see how she’s caring for those young ones. If there’s some difficulty, we can help them along, or sometimes if a mother can not take care of them, we can move them to the next animal.

SEE ALSO: A YEAR ON A MINK FARM. PART 1: BREEDING

We have a computer system which we use, and that helps us track each individual animal. Years ago when my father did it, it was all done by hand, but now it’s a computer system where we use a bar code, and we’re able to select and look for the genetic traits that we want to keep in the mink.

We look for size; size is important because it’s material that it takes to make the garment. Also we look at the quality of the hair. We’re looking for fine, soft hair on the mink, rather than coarser-type hair. And the thickness and the depth of the underfur is important.

We raise seven different colors, from black to white. There are browns, there are greys in between – lighter greys, darker greys – but we have distinct, different breeds.

Healthy Diet, Healthy Mink

A healthy mink starts with a healthy diet, and in Wisconsin we’re fortunate to have a diverse agricultural community. We have things available to us like beef, cheese, eggs, poultry.

JIM ZIMBAL, fourth-generation mink farmer: The better food helps them grow a nice thick coat, and silky. If we didn’t feed them as well, they wouldn’t turn out as well.

BOB ZIMBAL: I’m not a formally trained nutritionist, but I do work with nutritionists, and at different times of the year, the mink’s needs are different. So when a mink is reproducing, its requirements are different than when it’s growing or furring. So our food is weekly sent in to a laboratory to have it analyzed to make sure that we’re meeting the needs of the mink.

SEE ALSO: A YEAR ON A MINK FARM. WHELPING AND WEANING

The great thing about us taking these animal proteins that are not used for human consumption, we’re recycling that back into the mink industry and using that to feed the mink. So all our food is produced on our site, in our feed kitchen, keeping that food as fresh each day as possible.

We have a brand-new, state-of-the-art facility. We can open the roofs and sides and the air will flow through the building, to keep it cooler in the summer. But also we can close it up in bad weather in the winter to protect the animals from the environment.

Also this facility uses the natural light which the mink are accustomed to.

This facility is designed to make the mink comfortable, but also make it efficient for the people that are caring for the animals. So the way the bedding is put into them, the way the boxes are kept clean - things like that are designed with what’s comfortable for the animal but also what is efficient for the employees.

This facility is really a state-of-the-art facility that is going to be copied by other farmers throughout the world.

JOHN EASLEY, DVM, ranch services veterinarian: Zimbal Mink management techniques are always being developed on the farm here. They are always looking for different ways for them to produce and handle and care for these mink in a better way.

From a health standpoint, as a veterinarian, I look at how the animals are being taken care of on a daily basis.

The Zimbals are an active participant in Fur Commission USA’s Humane Herd Certification Program. During the herd certification process we look to see that the mink are being housed, cared for, fed, managed, to the criteria that are prescribed within the guidelines. By meeting those standards, they consistently produce some of the best-quality mink in the world, and that reflects on their caretaking abilities.

BOB ZIMBAL: My daughter, my son and my nephews and nieces travel the world, like Moscow, London, Milan, Hong Kong, New York, to keep up on the latest trends in the fashion industry. Really, what are these manufacturers and top designers looking for in the quality of the mink?

Buyers throughout the world expect consistent quality from us, and they’re expecting the highest standard in the world. Our quality exceeds their expectations, which makes Zimbal Mink the most sought-after brand in the world.

And it all starts here, on the farm, with our attention to detail.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwPsStvktks[/embed]

Welcome to 2015 and our first Fur In The News roundup of the year! Coming up: all the best news articles in January.

While we got all caught up in the trapping and farming side of things (pardon the pun!) – Women’s Wear Daily reminded us that fur is all over the streets of the fashion capitals of the world.

And the international media sure have caught on to the fur story. The Financial Times, The Telegraph, Harper's Bazaar, Toronto Life, and Style Caster all posted articles questioning whether it is acceptable to wear fur. We are thrilled to see that all of these articles are leaning towards a YES!

Education made news in the fur world this month. The CBC did a feature on an Ontario couple who are teaching their children to trap and skin animals, which got a lot of attention and comments. One of the US's most prestigious art schools, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), has launched its first program for fur designers. This is a significant confirmation of the importance of fur in fashion, and other schools are expected to follow SAIC’s example. We've also learnt of a few groups and courses teaching trapping skills to the young, including the No-Name Gang in Wisconsin, a fur-handling workshop in Montana, this trapping course in Ontario, and this friendly trapper who wants to teach his trade to whoever is interested.

The auctions are picking up - seal skin did well in Copenhagen, Nova Scotia mink farmers are optimistic, and Northern Fur Harvesters are hoping for a stable 2015.

While the UK may be known for being quite anti-fur, we are thrilled to see its two leading ladies, Kate Moss and Queen Elizabeth, are both fans of this beautiful, luxurious product.

And let's not forget the environmental argument: here is a great article highlighting that the "cruelty-free" option is rarely the environmentally friendly one.

We featured a few "day in the life" articles, like this one about a wildlife officer in Ohio, these trappers in Missouri, and this local veteran who spends his time trapping beavers.

Here are some interesting facts we learnt this month:

1. Beavers are now responsible for global warming! Ok, maybe not the ONLY ones responsible, but still ...
2. You can knit mink (and make mink yarn.)
3. The National Museum of Denmark is putting on a major exhibition on fur. Entitled Fur: An Issue of Life and Death, it is on until Feb. 22. Here's your excuse to visit Copenhagen!

And the antis continued their hypocritical tirade against us nature-loving fur folk. Here are a few of the quotes summing up their rude and often-threatening attitude towards us:

"What I don't respect are hypocrites who rail about 'killing poor, defenseless animals' while chowing down on a juicy sirloin or fried chicken leg. Until they wipe the grease off their chin and start living on tofu and bean sprouts, they should button it up." From an article in the Lebanon Democrat.

"These are the same people who supposedly care so much about animals," Chaney said. "But they'd rather kill a chef than a duck." From a chef who likes to cook with foie gras, from the Huffington Post.

"Unless you’re going to be vegan and not wear a leather belt, you can’t be hypocritical about wearing fur." A great article from the Edmonton Journal including some good fur coat storage tips.

"I hope you (expletive) die a miserable death (expletive) ..." A fantastic opinion piece from the FDL Reporter explaining that death threats have no place online. We agree!

But let's end this round up with something fun: proof that people who wear fur are fun. Cheers to this guy from Winnipeg!

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One of America's most prestigious art schools, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), has launched its first program for fur designers. This is a significant confirmation of the importance of fur in fashion, and other schools are expected to follow SAIC's example.

The prestige attached to SAIC's endorsement of fur is huge. In a 2002 survey by the National Arts Journalism Program at Columbia University, SAIC was named the “most influential art school” in the United States.

In 2012, US News & World Report ranked SAIC the tied second-best graduate program for fine arts in the U.S., and in 2013, The Global Language Monitor ranked SAIC as the 5th best college in the U.S., the highest ever for an art or design school in a general college ranking.

SAIC's move can also be seen as recognition of fur's current prominence on the fashion scene.

Hailing as one of the biggest trends of the 2015 season, fur had a major presence this year on the runways at New York, London, Milan and Paris Fashion Week. Not only did fur dominate, appearing in over 70% of designer collections, but it also took over the streets as major bloggers and editors from all over the world showed off their fur street style.

Design students from all over the world are noticing and becoming more interested in using fur. It’s important that programs are in place for them to learn the material at their chosen school. With so many opportunities in the fur industry, students in these programs would learn to sew, design, and embrace what fur can do for their collections.

A Collaborative Effort

SAIC's decision to add the new fur program to its curriculum followed seven months of collaboration, and 15 students are already registered for its first class. Teaching them will be Liat Smestad, for many years lead designer for the Carol and Irwin Ware Fur Collection. The Wares were style-setters on Chicago's Magnificent Mile, introducing the city to such designers as Fendi, Dior and Zuki.

“Even today’s most in-demand designers had, at one point, never sewn a garment,” says Kathy Rezny of York Furs in Deer Park, Illinois, not far from Chicago. Rezny has been a huge driving force behind SAIC's decision to embrace fur design. “Those with a true passion for fashion worked their way up and now grace the runways of New York, Paris, Milan, and beyond. Every designer has a story, and York Furs is so excited to support local fashion students as they embark on their journey to create fashion forward designs.”

Materials for SAIC's new students are being sourced by Samantha Grala of New York-based ER Fur Trading Corp. ER Fur Trading provides production services in the US, China, Hong Kong, France, Israel and Italy, and also produces its own line of fur garments. Grala, meanwhile, is a member of Fur Futures, an international networking initiative set up to support the next generation of fur designers.

Also involved in the effort to expand options for would-be fur designers in the US is the Fur Information Council of America. Says Keith Kaplan, FICA's executive director, “We are presently in discussion with several other design schools and we hope to make similar announcements in the near future.”

Why is a fur coat expensive? Truth About Fur asked Zuki, renowned fur designer and manufacturer from Montreal, Canada:

"The price of a fur coat reflects many hours of skilled work required to produce it. Before designers like me ever see the pelts, there is the effort and knowledge of the trapper or fur farmer.

"Once the furs have been purchased at the auction and sent to the processors for 'dressing' and other special treatments, the pelts are individually matched for quality and coloration in the designer’s atelier. The pelts are then cut and 'blocked' (dampened, stretched and tacked on a 'blocking board') to fit the pattern.

"The sewing and finishing stages are done by experienced technicians using specialized skills that have been perfected over generations. Because furs are created by nature, no two pelts are exactly alike.

"The genius of furriers is their ability to create a homogenous fabric-like material, while skillfully using the natural character of the skins to enhance the design of each garment. The production of a beautiful fur coat may require 40-100 hours of skilled labor, or more."

More Questions About the Fur Trade?

Find the answers to all your questions about the North American fur trade at Truth About Fur, including:

• What types of fur are used in the fur trade?
• Is it morally wrong to raise animals just for their fur?
• What happens to the rest of a trapped animal when the fur is taken?
• Why is a fur coat expensive?
• How are farmed mink killed?
• How can we be sure that farmed mink are treated humanely in the United States?
• Why do we need foothold traps?
• How do we know only targeted animals are captured?
• Are the chemicals used for fur processing bad for the environment?
• ... and many more.

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