apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I think they are gorgeous. I'm not sure how cats/dogs react to them or whether there's a need to be concerned -- some mamals can smell things you and I can't, but I assume the tanning process eliminates even those scents.

I've never understood the animal hide rug thing. It's so gross and ugly imo. The only dead animal body parts I want in my house are ones I'm gonna eat.

Hideous is the only word that comes to mind.
How would you like to look down from the here-after
and see people trampling over your hide???
Faux fur perhaps(?)

Well, one of the hard things to explain to people about the preservation of biodiversity in livestock is the rule "you've got to eat it to keep it." If we don't create a market for heirloom breeds of domesticated or at least semi-domesticated animals (like reindeer), farmers will stop raising those breeds and they'll die out. Since some of the semi-wild animals like deer and bison are much easier on the environment than their fully-domesticated brethren, the cows and pigs and so on, using all parts of these animals, the hides and the antlers and the meat and all, seems to me good for the environment, the farmers/ranchers and the consumer. I would love a real bison hide, and someday I will buy one from the same farm that sells me excellent bison meat. At over $1000, I'm sure the farmer will be pleased to make a sale.

Not a fan.

I suppose I can't say I'm against them as I sit here with my leather shoes. But I kinda am. I do like the classic zebra hide; if it's fake.

I think it's a horribly sad waste of a living, breathing animal just to have something to step on. Surely, there are better synthetic alternatives out there. Definitely not for me. Spare a life and choose something else.

i love cow hides. i eat meat and am not apologetic for it... cows are bread for it, so why not use the hides as well.

I don't agree. I think imitation is a more humane alternative.

must we beat this dead horse to death? its been clearly stated over and over the views on this.

there will always be those that do not care about animal abuse.

I think they're beautiful and durable. I have no problem with eating, using, or wearing any animal products so long as they're sustainably and humanely raised and slaughtered -- not endangered or stuck in miserable living conditions.

Anyone who has issues with hides or taxidermy in decorating needs go all the way and not ever have a leather chair, belt, or pair of shoes. The same folks who will rip into someone for having a cowhide rug will Oooo and Ahhhh over a Eames Lounger. I don't get that.

I have vegetarian friends who have eliminated all animal skins from their lives -- I get that and can respect and admire it.

Whatever you think on this issue, just take a stand and be consistant.

Oh, wow, like there wasn't enough chatter about this already? Oh well, my two cents...

I'm leery about it. On one hand, I'm a moderate carnivore and believe that if you're going to kill an animal, you should use all of it - hide, bones, tripe, sweetbreads, the whole works. I also think naturalist David Quammen was on to something when he noted that many animal conservations efforts did well when the people who lived around them had some incentive in their existance (ie. rights to hunt/butcher and eat/sell some of the animals). It's certainly a compromise, geared toward the welfare of species, not individual animals. And, it can be abused, but then, poachers exist as it is. My biggest worry is about perpetuating fur as a fashion item (in general) that might lead to a decline in the population of some endangered species (in particular.)

So, my ideological answer is no and my practical answer is yes. I wouldn't purchase something like this myself, but I don't have a problem with it.

My advice, though, is to do a bit of soul-searching before you commit. You don't want something on your floor that's going to give you a guilt trip. It's only sustainable if you use it, and don't replace it while it's still usable.

There is nothing cute about skinning animals and using them for vanity in the home or on your back. My house is beautiful at no cost of dead animals.

what mlleErica said. To quote Marshall Saunders, in her book "Beautiful Joe":

"It's a possible thing to raise healthy stock, treat it kindly, kill it mercifully, eat it decently."

And I believe that goes for using every other part of the animal, including the skin.

LoriSF you lost me. Where's the animal abuse? Is it just the killing and using the parts, or is there something else?

"there will always be those that do not care about animal abuse."

And there will always be the those who use extreme and inflammatory rehtoric to grandstand for their positions.

The same "logic" applies to these statements.

--I use electricity in my house therefore I do not care about nuclear waste or strip mining associated with coal mining.
--I drive a car therefore I do not care about global warming.
--I support pro-choice legislation therefore I do not care about murder.
--I eat non-organic fruits and vegetables therefore I do not care about agriculture.
--I ate a loaf of bread that was made with commerically available wheat flower therefore I do not care about GMO foods.
--I breathe therefore I do not care about carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

On a note to mlleErica - its rare where cows are "humanely raised & slaughtered" they are usually kept in small pens and chained up like dogs - then they take a nice blow to the head over and over until dead. Currently as of 2008 some farmers are raising animals and slaughtering them humanely - and its very expensive and hard to even find the humane raised meat much less humanely skilled animal skins. Just remember a lot of the skins used in homes are from other animals as well that are ONLY killed for their fur.

interesting that it seems to break down along animal rights lines rather than aesthetic lines. i consider it terribly ugly and ill-fitting, gimmicky, tacky-faux-rustic, and would never want it in my house; but i'm not sure how separate that can be in my mind from the fact that i don't use or wear animal products for moral reasons.

I think if you do your research, and you are satisfied that the animals are humanely raised and slaughtered (yes there is such a thing) in a way you can live with then go for it. People that are against animal furs will be angry, but hey, they are not you. Many synthetic materials are made from petroleum based products in third world countries by children (again you gotta research), so they are not always the better alternatives.

Well said, mlleErica. My childhood home had plenty of animals in it -- my father hunted, and as well as eating the meat, he often had the hides or heads taxidermied, and we used more of the animal that way.

If it's "humane", fine. Although luxurious looking, all I see is dust and allergens. How on earth do you clean something like that?

lyla -- it's difficult, yes, but not impossible, especially if you live anywhere near a rural farming population like I do. You just have to make the effort and do the research if it's important to you.

I eat and use products along the Weston Price foundation's line of thought -- organic, grass fed, well cared for, pasture raised stock. I personally have visited most of the farms that raise the food I eat.

It is possible to find home decor that is made from sustainably raised animals as the post above illustrates, and I'm not suggesting that anyone should do anything else. If it's a bit more expensive, so what -- I'm willing to pay a premium in order to do what's right, and I think most everyone else is too.

I grew up on a farm in Iowa, and cannot say that I EVER saw a farmer pen up or chain up cows. Doesn't happen there. While treated humanely on the farm, I am sure the slaughterhouse is NOT humane at all.

At any rate, I have no use for dead animals as decorations. The thought of it is just gross to me. Not even thinking about the humane aspect of it, just the thought of something dead being on my floor sort of weirds me out.

I love them despite all my moral misgivings. I just can't help it. Maybe it's because I'm part Sami.

I think it looks tacky, just like those old women who wear their fur coats.

Hideous is the first and only word that came to my mind, too, swamijazz... and I'm not even plugging for humanity or morality, here. They're just gross. Nothing tasteful about them.

It's just like the feelings on this topic of hundreds of AT posters have never been registered before. Why don't you check the archives?

Philosophically I don't have a problem with this as I am not a complete vegan or anything. And aesthetically the reindeer hide looks great in that house.

I admire people who can live completely 'animal-free' lives. Although I think a lot about meat and where it comes from (and thus rarely eat it), I seldom think about the leather that's used to make my shoes and handbags. Just last night I looked at the tag in my gloves and saw that they were deerskin. This article is reminding me to be more conscious!

I think Sara Palin has destroyed animal skins as decor forever. Well, at least for a few years. If you do go with the fur and you have a cat be prepared for the risk that your cat will roll around on your fur like it's new catnip drenched toy. My cat can't stay away from anything that smells of animal freedom (alpaca hand bags, wool sweaters, unprocessed leather...etc). Of course, my cat is a little freaky that way.

I think it's gorgeous, and based on how reindeer are raised in Finland, I think they're a perfectly ethical choice. One of the best meals of my life was reindeer when I was living in Finland, and it certainly makes sense to me to use as much of the animal as possible.

I could see this rug in my living room, although I have cats that love to puke on rugs. I wouldn't want to have something so precious be despoiled like that.

FWIW, I am against fur from non-meat animals and I believe that eating wild or free-range animals is highly preferable to eating those raised in factory conditions.

I think anyone who thinks this is somehow "sustainable" or "green" or "environmentally sound" is seriously ignorant. The industrial production and consumption of animals, no matter how it's done, is terribly damaging to the environment. They emit tons of carbon dioxide, consume tons of plants (that absorb carbon dioxide), pollute the water, etc. And how can it be "green" if it has to be processed and then shipped all the way from the northernmost climes of Scandinavia? Oh, and it looks garish and ghoulish on the floor; it is only beautiful when it is a living, breathing animal.

And don't give me this horse-carp about the "indigenous Sami" people. Look, it's the 21st century, where it is no longer to eat, wear or walk on animals. If the Sami cannot learn to evolve, and make an honest living where they are not brutally exploiting innocent, sentient creatures, then they deserve to go extinct. Evolve or die!

It gives me the creeps when I see an animal hide rug in a store - I'll try to walk around instead of on them. Even if it's humane and all that, I personally don't like the idea of walking on the fur of a dead animal.

I feel like my dog would have some kind of Harry and the Henderson’s moment freak out and be disappointed in me.

Lets not euphemize and call it a rug - its a dead animal skin. Even looking at it online makes me feel queasy, because it is so clearly a dead animal. The people who would like this in their homes probably would think a few mounted and stuffed bears or antlers or gorilla hand ashtrays are stylish as well.

There are so many beautiful and sustainable choices we can make, why choose something that involves the suffering of another creature?

http://www.furisdead.com/

just to weigh in here -- considering that we found out last year that some "faux fur' lining the hoods of our hoodies, and coating our groovy throw pillows, actually came from dogs in china -- is it not better, if you're really after the hide thing, to go with the real thing -- if you do your research, as Hollie says?

Not. My name is not Grizzly Adams.

I happen to have a cow hide. I like it.

If cow had been killed for the sole purpose of the hide, I would surely have a different opinion on the ethics. For example: the mink. However, the cow is being used primarily for the meat. Then next comes all those leather products like shoes, belts, sofas, etc.

If you live your life meat and leather free, you have earned your right to stand on the soap box, otherwise I think it would be hypocritical. Others may think its just plain ugly...

Fur is an organic product and totally renewable resource.

Ok, here's the bottom line:
If you repeatedly walk over a
dead animal on purpose and
call it a rug it will HAUNT you
(believe it or not).
You decide.

Ethically I have no problem with this at all. A hide rug is going to last a whole lot longer than that hamburger you ate at lunch. I'm much happier with using the whole animal--meat, hide, etc. than the daily, mindless consumption of factory meat, milk, eggs, etc. I have a wonderful sheepskin that we use as a throw--it's a curly, Jacob sheep with gorgeous coffee brown wool--from a farm in New Hampshire that I know practices responsible animal husbandry. I've bought yarn from them for knitting, beautiful mittens that a friend of theirs makes from their wool, and I know they sell meat lambs as well. I just don't see the issue with this. McDonald's on the other hand bugs me, but I think everyone has to draw their own line. On the reindeer specifically, I think it looks kind of cool, though yes--I always think hide feels a little unpadded if it's used on a bare floor. And you might not want to explain to small children that it's from a reindeer--you don't want them to think you killed Rudolph.

"Fur is an organic product and totally renewable resource."

Oh lord.

Disgusting. Barbaric. Violent.

While I am the black sheep eco-friendly one of my family, I was raised wearing leather boots and fur jackets. So I do appreciate that fashion.

I don't go out looking for furs and such but heirloom furs have been given to me and I cherish them very much.

This reindeer, being sustainably raised sounds like a great buy to me.

I usually comment in these threads (look I'm doing it again!), but I think this issue has become something of a traffic baiting tactic.

...and I suppose the Bison and Deer and other animals that sustained all of our ancestors were killed mercifully? Who was there to tell the Neanderthals that impaling an animal by multiple spears and hacking it to bits while down but still breathing isn't nice??

Should we also exterminate all wild carnivorous animals such as Tigers and Lions, Polar Bears and Orca so that the Gazelle and Zebras, Seals and Penguins they eat don't get chased down in fear and eaten alive?

Shall we also condemn going to concerts because the violins and cellos, etc use horsehair in their bows, the drums use animal hides for their drumheads, and animal glues are used in the making of the instruments themselves?

You do realize that if it weren't for mankind's active breeding of animals that are valued for their furs such as Mink, Sable, Chinchilla, certain species of Fox, etc. - that many of these animals would never have been born and the species themselves might very well no longer exist?

How many animals have been killed in the clearing of farmlands, the building of dams, the drilling for oil?

Sorry - Life isn't a Disney movie, PETA doesn't exist in the wild, and even if you choose not to partake of animal products the rest of the world will continue to do so in one form or another. The best we can do is to be careful stewards of the animals that live, encourage humaine killings, and promote rational use of their products.

"If the Sami cannot learn to evolve, and make an honest living where they are not brutally exploiting innocent, sentient creatures, then they deserve to go extinct. Evolve or die!"

Um, are you kidding me with your myopic worldview?? Wow. More compassion for the reindeer, I see. Nice.

Wow, there are a lot of ignorant misinformed statements flying around a subject that is clearly controversial and very personal.

Having grown up on a small farm we had sheep that served many functions. They kept the fields down in the rocky terrain that could not be mowed. They were also bred and a certain number of them were slaughtered and eaten each year, that is the only way to sustain a flock. Only rarely did we keep and process the hides to make sheepskins but we had them around the house and usually the dogs slept on them.

Domesticated animals are a reality of our society and while commecial and industrial farming are sad realities there are people who live sustainable lives and depend on the animals. The animals in turn depend on the people because they are domestic and would not survive on their own.

The use of animal products, meat, and hides is a personal choice but the idea of something synthetic as a more enviormental choice and telling people they shouldn't be able to farm and sustain themselves seems very off base. I am for the most humane treatment of domestic animals but that also includes a person sustaining a flock or herd and not setting them free to die in the wild.

This would be better if you could by it from your neigbor and not from half way around the world but I don't think you should have moral reservations about the animals treatment in this particular case.

mlleerica all the way!!! people need to respect each other's point of view and realize that we think differently and have different opinions.

i, myself, do not like fur products.... creeps me out when i touch it.

but it seems there has been enough research on this deer skin.... so if that's your thing go for it!

Thank you, bepsf, for that dose of sanity.

Ok, here's the bottom line:
If you repeatedly walk over a
dead animal on purpose and
call it a rug it will HAUNT you
(believe it or not).
You decide.

It may haunt you, but I don't think your experience will be shared by everyone. Honestly? This doesn't bother me too much.

I personally have never seen the ghost of a cow -- much less a reindeer. But that's just me.

Come on folks. Lighten up. We can disagree without all of the drama.

all other issues aside, i usually find them depressing.

i do not believe that mankind has evolved away from partially being carnivores (or ever will). i do believe that it is only fair, then, to use as much as possible of the animals we kill, instead of throwing them away, adding insult to injury … but i still do not want to decorate my home with skin.

I'm going to leave the emotional part of this topic aside as it has been well-covered, but I'd like to add something on the topic of faux furs and faux hides. I am surprised people are still advocating these at this point in history. These are some of the most unsustainable, toxic textile products available today - they're made of acrylic, one of the worst offenders. Acrylic's petrochemical-based raw materials are heated to form a toxic-fume producing polymer that is then permanently non-biodegradable and non-recyclable. It's supposedly durable, meaning it doesn't rip, but it quickly loses its looks. As an aside it's been estimated that 30% of particles on UK beaches are not "sand" - they're plastic. If you don't like leather, hide or fur, that's fine, but faux products probably shouldn't be touted as an ethical alternative.

I find it telling that many of those who are anti-animal skin in a knee-jerk, extremist manner avoid responding to the question of whether they have an animal-product-free home and wardrobe. Anyone? And let's include silk in this, for those who also care about the welfare of smaller critters with extra (or no) legs.

If their answer is yes, massive kudos, and I'd love to see a post on creating a genuinely cruelty-free home environment. If their answer is no, well then... walk the walk or shut the mouth.

I saw an animal hide used as a rug just yesterday in a design book that featured the interior of the Swedish consulate in New York. Apparently this is traditional in Swedish interiors. In the 18th and 19th Centuries, Americans used buffalo hides for a variety of purposes.

I think it's a design approach that is rooted in the past and is probably archaic now. I eat meat occasionally and wear leather in my shoes, so I am not going to condemn someone for using an animal hide for a rug.

Personally, I find it very unappealing. I've blogged often about the horrible trophy head design trend. This isn't as bad, but it is unnecessary in a time of multiple alternatives. Plus, at home, you want to relax without having to be constantly aware of the bloodshed of other species. I do not urge people to tune out conservation issues ... just the opposite. But there should be a few hours where one can escape reminders of the constant carnage in the wider world.

how many millions of large and small animals have been destroyed because of all the suburban homes some of you live in - all those millions of acres of land clear-cut for some cookie cutter houses and manicured lawns that you spray pesticide on to prevent even more animals their right to life? how many displaced and therefore eventually dead animals from all the highways you drive on every day, the dams that provide your cities power, the giant agribusiness farms that provide you cheap hamburgers?

tackle big issues and the small ones will resolve themselves in due course.

Just a brief comment. For those of you who suggest we as a people evolve or die or indicate that we should somehow live lives that don't affect the animals around you, I ask you to pause and consider your statements. Evolved or not, we are still animals ourselves. Agreeing with an earlier statement, what have you to say for tigers and other "violently" carnivorous creatures. I think the evolved thing to do is to use all of the creature we sustain ourselves on. Using the skin, bones, fat, is far more respectful to an animal then seeding the remains to the junk heap.

I think they are just plain ugly.
In my experience with animals, they tend to be more aggressive with destroying leather, hides and other things made from animals than synthetics.
Personally I refuse to use or consume anything that comes from an animal as I feel it's an unnecessarily cruel practice.

No, never ever, not ever.

If you are a vegetarian and don't wear leather then I commend you for being true to not wanting a cow hide rug. I eat meat and believe that if the animal is slaughtered for me to eat, it's better that we use all it's part. Personally I think the Reindeer hide looks a little like a large rat skin. I prefer cow hides or the ones printed like zebra. But that is personal preference. There's no difference morally between a skin that looks like a large rat and one that looks like a normal sized cow.

Also agree with rreader. As for pets destroying leather etc, I disagree. My cat scratches the hell out of the arm of my slipcovered couch and could care less about my leather chair and my cowhide rug.

I can´t find any honest justification for this. Eating is a human need, using a dead animal skin for decoration is not.

Animals do not fall into the "decoration" category, at least for me.

In order for things like leather to be made
they have to skin the animals alive


also what's the difference between skinning a deer or cow and putting it on your floor
and skinning a dog or cat and putting it on your floor.
Who is to say what's wrong? I mean some countries eat dogs, some countries refuse to eat cows like Americans.
What? One is cuter than the other??

But the point is that: it's not necessary.
why recycle?
because it isn't necessary to be wasteful. And if we have the option to be more considerate beings, we should.

Looks very cozy to me!
I must be truthful, I really love the feeling of animal fur both alive and dead!

I agree with librayoga's bottom line. "Haunt" may be a superstitious way of putting it, but apart from some atavistic carnivore trophy-collecting urge, what is the appeal of having a lot of dead things littering your house?

I'm not a vegetarian and I'm not against leather products. But these hides in their natural shape just look like a dead carcass on the floor to me and I find nothing attractive about that at all. I am looking forward to this fad ending as soon as possible.

re: CharlieCooks': "In order for things like leather to be made
they have to skin the animals alive."

While in some circumstances, live flaying does happen (and is despicable), please do not exaggerate and say that leather cannot be produced without skinning animals alive.

I was a vegetarian for six years before switching back to eating meat, and am firmly in the "use fewer animals, but all their parts" camp. I think vegetarians and vegans have a lot of good arguments for not eating and using animal products, but too often undermine themselves and their causes through inflated and inflammatory rhetoric. If y'all just stuck to the facts and showed evidence of the real horror shows out there, people might take it more seriously, like when the scandal about treatment of downed cows in CA slaughterhouses was brought to light last year.

That said, I think it's a personal decision, and has a lot to do with an individual's gut reaction to furs and skins. Some find them comforting, attractive, durable; others, disgusting, reprehensible, wasteful.

Seriously AT, how many more times are you going to ask the same question in different formats? Enough is enough!

Resounding NO!!

(Won't let me vote.)

NO NO NO
BAD BAD KARMA!!!

Veganism is the new way to live. Compassionate and kind design.

There are so many imitation animal hides out there, why resort to the real thing that is so cruel and unnecessary. Very Selfish is you ask me.

I too am so sick of this!!!
What's next? Labrador slipcovers or tabby cat ottomans? Sheesh, have a heart people!
It's a cruel cruel industry!!
Go see how meat and animal products are manufactured and you will change your mind! Trust me on that. Field trip anyone? There's a reason slaughterhouses don't have windows.
I also champion the vegan lifestyle and feel better for it in mind, body and soul.

Unbelievable!
Can you hear the chorus?
"Me,Me,Me,Me..."
The debate is not whether or not
you wear leather shoes, it's
about the esthetics and morals
of walking over a carcass and
calling it a rug in the name of
interior design. IMO it's totally
acceptable if your name is Fred
Flintstone...
if it's not, grow up and look around.

i'm speaking just visually here, not morally.

it's one thing when an animal product is used in a way that doesn't still look like the animal, another when it just looks like something dead or a part of something dead. that's just a big turn off.

i believe the other thing you should consider is how strongly people have reacted to the question. you'd have to assume that you may have a guest in your home w/ the same feelings. i think it's best to avoid that.

i'm vegan but i don't hold other people to it.

If you're a set designer for Conan the Barbarian...maybe. Otherwise, totally aesthetically unappealing.

what's with all the dramatics when it comes to fur? i don't see people throwing red paint on me when i'm at the butchers or purchasing some new leather shoes...but when it's fur people go ballistic.

perhaps because it's so literal? i'm not sure.

get your vegan on if you hate it.

I think animal fur is so beautiful on and off the animal! If the animal is dead, why should his fur go to waste when it can be soft and cozy for my home?

I grew up in Michigan and Texas, I have never heard of someone I know not liking, wearing and decorating with fur except on TV shows. Since reading AT I have really seen a different opinion exists out there but It is far away from me personally.

Those that argue the humane side of the issue, I feel you.

But let's remember that it's far more humane to keep an entire population of people in economic health via trade for their products (in this case, reindeer).

Also, the creation of synthetic furs is far more damaging to the environment as largely the rayons and other synthetics used to create the fur are overwhelmingly petroleum products.

The fewer excuses we give to continue to consume oil, the better.

lyla, good thing you read FastFood Nation. Awesome.

I actually laughed out loud when I read "kept in small cages and chained LIKE DOGS."


So do we start with how we treat house pets--and then "chained like dogs" will become a much more positive notion, eh?

Oil and the barbaric slaughter of animals holds no comparison.
I side with the living, thank you very much.
I certainly wouldn't drape the my gorgeous tortoiseshell hide of my pet cat across my hardwood floor... nor chop her up and grill her for dinner.
(the animals are all hims and hers you know!).
Open your eyes people. These excuses are lame.
Vegan Peace. ♥

When my dog dies I plan to eat him, and either stuff him or use his hide for pillows. I always want to have him near.

Sustainably raised? Family-owned business? Locally harvested? Ecological?

What the...? You seriously aren't falling for this bull are you? This makes you feel better about buying into a horrifically cruel industry! What a pathetic excuse. It's all a fake facade to an ugly, ugly world.

No more ignorance! You really want to know how the cruel fur industry destroys the animals and our precious earth, educate yourself. Go out there and do the real research. Try and go inside these slaughterhouses and take a look for yourself. It's impossible!!! Don't fall for this propaganda, this cover-up. It's a lose-lose industry that is completely un-ecological and uses more resources than imaginable (think about it).
The meat and fur business is comparable to the oil industry (we are addicts!). Information is sugar-coated, and intentionally distorted and tainted to make you feel morally blunted so you buy into it. "It's ok... it's sustainable"
What ugly deception! Don't fall for it.
Such a sham. Such a shame.
The only ethically appropriate way to live is by veganism.
Yes it is!

One question:
How many of you have a pet?

Call your pet by name. Look deep into his/her eyes.
Talk to her/him, touch her/him, love her/him.
Now...
Do you see...
Dinner and Decor??

Pot pie and a flashy rug?
Think about it.
What if...

When my dog dies I plan to eat him, and either stuff him or use his hide for pillows. I always want to have him near.

Ha ha ha.

When my dog dies I plan to eat him, and either stuff him or use his hide for pillows. I always want to have him near.

LOL!!!

I'm sitting next to a goat skin rug right now. I love, love, love taxidermy and hides and have a collection of skulls too. I don't feel the need to justify it to anyone - if you don't like, don't come over to my house/be my friend/whatever.

I don't get it. The human race kills millions of cows a year to eat. Why not put the rest of the animal to use? I think its totally natural.

Plus, its the only rug I've ever found that my dogs won't pee on!!

disgusting.

What I don't understand is people claiming to be vegans for ethical reasons yet advocating the production and use of synthetic materials and consuming highly processed yet vegan branded food. This doesn't add up and their self righteous tone falls flat.

How many vegans here have cats and feed them commercial cat food? I wonder where that comes from?

This is all a personal preference and if you like it and have done your research go for it.

To the self-righteous vegans (which seems on this particular thread, to be highly redundant), commercial farming is NOT exactly the most eco-sensible industry on the planet. So unless you are vegan AND eat ONLY locally grown, organically and responsibly farmed food, get off your high horse. We need the pelt for our living room makeover.

Everybody is trippin' off the rug, but personally, I'm just appalled at that poor tree taken alive and it's hide used just to build that silly house. Who needs houses anyway? Can't we just stop being selfish and live without houses? I'm sure there is some other synthetic altrnative to using live wood for the promotion of human needs. People are just cutting down trees for personal gain. The sustainable and obviously humane thing to do would be to dig a hole and live in that. Sheesh people, have a heart.

Why doesn't a leather Eames chair stir up the same amount of angst and woe?

Hide with hair stripped off = ok, hide with hair left on = no ok?

Weirdness.

patrick the other one-
feeble.

liveinpeace--

And you went to "Would you kill and eat your dog"?

Totally!! Some weak comebacks and excuses here!
This is about living breathing animals, not locally grown carrots or kibble dog food. Good grief people!
True vegans live the lifestyle all the way through.
That's common sense. Enough said.
No need to pick -- you'll get dizzy runnin around in circles!
Take a deep breath and ride on...
And live in peace. (:

It's the holier than thou attitude of those "living the lifestyle all the way through" that just rubs me the wrong way. Sorry to be cranky about it.

Holy Have a Cow!!
Patrick et al ~
Dog, cow, cat, pig, gerbil, goat.
Good grief. Same diff - all have beautiful coats, right? So?
We all know who takes which side so let's stop stirring the pot shall we?! This is so yesterday's post.
~Namaste!~

Perhaps y'all are just (mis)interpreting vegans as holding a "holier than thou attitude".
Because we don't. Well, I don't (and I'm sorry if you misread that I do!)
**Some vegans are passionate about their ideals, just as much as those who hold the opposite ideals are (which I could easily perceive as "holier than thou")**
To each his own... I don't judge, I just debate! (:
It's nothing personal.
Take control of your perceptions...
and don't let us rub you the wrong way!

For those who say that killing an animal is acceptable as long as all of it gets used: does this rationalize the actions of Jeffrey Dahmer?

And no, I'm not some PETA nutjob who thinks animals should have the exact same rights as humans. There just isn't any reason to kill animals, and using the whole animal doesn't make the killing any less senseless.

Speaking of Dahmer, reminds me of news reports last week of the most horrorific case of animal abuse ever seen by investigators in my home county. Reading it made me physically ill. The guy was arrested and claims he was trying to learn taxidermy on road kill and butchering for food. Ironically, it appeared it the paper pages away from a feature on Anthony Bourdain touting his book listing his adventures in eating, among other things, someone's pet iguana. The paper is holding a contest for an essay on your own food adventures. How about criminal charges for adventures in barbecuing, who can top that guy?

I inherited an antique buffalo hide carriage robe from an elderly friend I loved and admired. I proudly put it on the sofa and it was devoured by moths, invisibly shearing off the hairs and turning it to a mangy mess. I will always feel sad about it. Otherwise, not really a fan of animal skin decor.

this is the most boring thread ever.

What kind of question is this, AT?????????????
Animal hides?

The answers should be YES or NO.

There is NO GREY AREA!! There is no such thing as a humane, sustainable, ecological animal slaughter business!!
What a smoke screen!
And you fell for this BS? So disappointing.
Come on, AT!

I think AT allowed for differing opinions and a variety of them. I, myself, do not share your opinion that there is no grey area. I am glad that AT allows for this. :)