Beavers
Beavers are extremely gentle, family-oriented animals who mate for life and remain lifelong friends with their offspring. The second-largest rodent in the world, the beaver can live 19 years, reach 60 pounds, and grow up to 4 feet long. Baby beavers, or “kits,” are usually born to hard-working, loving parents who have been together for many years. Female beavers are especially busy as they care for their young while looking after their rambunctious “teenagers.”
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Beavers are master architects—their complicated, well-built lodges can stand for years. These “busy beavers” take pride in their work and are constantly concerned with repairs to their homes. Beavers’ activity helps keep stream beds healthy and in good repair, and beavers are a keystone species in an ecosystem because they create wetlands that are used by many other species.
When startled or frightened, a swimming beaver will rapidly dive while forcefully slapping the water with his or her broad tail. This creates a loud sound, audible over large distances above and below water, which serves as a warning to other beavers in the area. Once a beaver has made this danger signal, all nearby beavers will dive and may not reemerge for some time. At one point in time, these industrious, clever animals were hunted and trapped nearly to extinction. Beavers today are still in constant danger of being caught in traps.
The body-gripping traps used to capture and kill beavers cause these sensitive animals immeasurable suffering. In many cases, Conibear (body-gripping) traps fail to catch the animals quickly or on target. If the traps do not kill the beavers immediately, they can slowly drown, suffering for up to 20 minutes. Death by drowning is extremely cruel—the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) condemns it in its 2000 Report of the AVMA Panel on Euthanasia.
Chinchillas
Chinchillas are shy, intelligent animals who eat vegetables and fruits and can live up to 15 years in the wild. Social “chatterboxes,” these sensitive nocturnal animals can spend all night long “talking” to one another. Fastidiously clean, they require frequent dust baths to care for their extremely dense fur. These “fluff fests” also provide invaluable moments of comfort and entertainment—moments that are denied caged chinchillas who are cruelly “farmed” for their fur.
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Originally found only in South America in communities of up to 100 members, chinchillas are now bred by fur farmers or pet store distributors who then sell them as “pets” to often ill-informed people. Captive chinchillas live for around 15 years, but some have been known to live up to 20 years or more. Chinchillas are naturally skittish. They also have delicate bones and generally dislike being held.
Chinchillas express themselves with a variety of vocalizations, including barks, chirps, and squeaks. They can make calm, loving chirps for potential mates as well as loud, aggressive barks when spooked. Active and inquisitive by nature, chinchillas need to exercise and satisfy their curiosity—two activities that are denied them on fur farms.
The demand for chinchilla fur has resulted in their near extinction. On a fur farm in Midland, Michigan, PETA investigators observed that chinchillas were suffering from painful seizures after being electrocuted or having their necks broken while they were still conscious.
Dogs and Cats
“Man’s best friend” killed for fur? It’s not just a bad dream. PETA’s recent undercover investigation into the Chinese dog and cat fur trade revealed what the industry is so desperate to hide. Even our veteran investigators were horrified at what they found: Millions of dogs and cats in China are bludgeoned, hanged, bled to death, and strangled with wire nooses so that their fur can be turned into trim and trinkets.
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Dog and cat fur is often deliberately mislabeled as fur from other species and is exported to countries throughout the world to be sold to unsuspecting consumers. China supplies more than half of the finished fur garments imported for sale in the U.S. So, if you’re buying fur, there’s no way to tell exactly whose skin you’re wearing.
Foxes
Foxes are intelligent nocturnal animals who rely on their big bushy tails to spread scent in order to communicate. Foxes usually survive by eating fruit, berries, roots, carrion, rats, and slugs. Foxes play an important ecological role, as they “clean” the environment, and their survival often depends upon the amount of available food in their territories. They bury food and have a very good sense of hearing, picking up sounds of small animals in the grass, underground, or under the snow. They have a keen sense of smell and will hunt from dusk to dawn.
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Although they usually live only one to two years, foxes have been known to survive nine years if left alone by humans, their sole predator. Foxes can run at speeds of up to 26 miles per hour and will run along logs, double back, or wade i