Angora - ethical or not for a vegetarian?!
I'm a strict vegetarian (no meat, no fish, no by-products, although I do eat eggs and milk) who doesn't buy leather or suede, or things like that. I just bought a lovely shrug, so soft, but looking at the label I found it 70% angora. Can anyone tell me some more information on how they get angora - I'm assuming it comes from the rabbits - like do they harm the rabbits to get the angora, are the rabbits generally well treated, etc. And also, especially if you're a vegetarian, could you give me your opinion on whether its ethical for me to wear it in view of my vegetarianism - should i take it back?
Thanks! x
Answers: Hi guys,
I'm a strict vegetarian (no meat, no fish, no by-products, although I do eat eggs and milk) who doesn't buy leather or suede, or things like that. I just bought a lovely shrug, so soft, but looking at the label I found it 70% angora. Can anyone tell me some more information on how they get angora - I'm assuming it comes from the rabbits - like do they harm the rabbits to get the angora, are the rabbits generally well treated, etc. And also, especially if you're a vegetarian, could you give me your opinion on whether its ethical for me to wear it in view of my vegetarianism - should i take it back?
Thanks! x
Angora can be made from rabbit or goat fur (mainly rabbits are used for clothes).
Really it depends on what kind of vegetarian you are. Are you the type that does it for health purposes only or do you also care about animals?
I'm a strict vegetarian also, same style diet as you except I don't eat dairy...I'm also majorly against using animals in fashion and in experiements. Those are my morals though.
It really depends on you.
Here's a little bit of history on angora:
The Angora rabbit is a variety of domestic rabbit bred for its long, soft hair. The Angora is one of the oldest types of domestic rabbit, originating in Ankara, Turkey, along with the Angora cat and Angora goat. The rabbits were popular pets with French royalty in the mid 1700s, and spread to other parts of Europe by the end of the century. They first appeared in the United States in the early 1900s. They are bred largely for their long wool, which may be removed by shearing or plucking (gently pulling loose wool).
I gave you a couple websites that explain more but if you want to know more about what really goes on at fur farms here's a link:
http://www.atourhands.com/furfarm.html#d...
It's very graphic though, so if you can't handle stuff like that don't look at it!!
you are awesome. i wish more people were like you. anyway i am not sure if the rabbits are harmed in anyway try to get their fur. check out http://encyclopedia.tfd.com/Angora+wool
but i dont think the rabbits want to be confined to a cage so they can be exploited for fur. animals should be let to walk around free. if the fur industry did that that would have been great, but ANIMALS are TORTURED in most of those fur harvesting industries (except for very few farms in developing and underdeveloped countries). well industrialization reminds us that conveniences come at a price, and the poor animals and laborers in poor countries are paying for it)
is it ethical for you? i believe it is not ethical period, there is no you, him, her, or i. it is objective (has nothing to do with god or evolution or anything, there are right things to do and things that are wrong for anyone who does it, i guess if you're forced to do it to save your life then its a different story). the reason why people should abstain from buying such products should be to create a change in the market for such products by decreasing the demand. if more people take up the cause and follow your path it can be done.
so, yeah, unless the rabbits are raised on a farm where they are free to roam around and live a natural life and if they are harvested for fur during their natural molting cycle it does not matter.
thank you so much for being a vegetarian.
ps: what makes anyone think im a girl?
im not sure, y dont u try searching for angora, see if u can summin about it. and the girl above is right, u r awesome.
It must be Angora wool thats taken from the Angora rabbit very similar to taking wool from sheep. The rabbits dont die when the wool is taken (they shed it naturally anyways).
As to how those rabbits were treated etc. cant say.
You should take it back or give it away to a non-vegetarian or charity.
It would be better if it was second hand. The problem would then be the image of using a non-vegetarian product, if people were aware of it.
Wool from an Angora goat is called Mohair. If the label states ANGORA then it IS from a RABBIT! If you wear wool, then Angora, Cashmere, Mohair etc. are much the same.
I don't know about how the rabbits are treated, but they are not killed to make the rug. They have super super long hair and they just shave it off once or twice a year. Kinda like a sheep being sheared.
It does not hurt, harm or destory the rabbit. Same with Sheep, Lamias, Alpacas etc or any other furred animal used for our clothing.
So it is up to you to decide what your line in the sand is.
I would wear it. For me- if the animal didn't have to die for me to wear/eat the item, then it doesn't go against my values. I'm not sure what happens to the angora rabbits- if they eventually lose their usefulness and end up slaughtered, or if they are useful for their entire lives, but I do know an egg-laying hen and a dairy cow eventually end up slaughtered after their usefulness is expended. So wearing angora is, at the very least, at least as humane as eating eggs/dairy- and probably moreso. :)
"Angora also refers to the hair of either the Angora goat or the Angora rabbit, or the fabric made from Angora rabbit; see Angora wool. (Fabric made from angora goat is mohair.)"
Flexitarian, you're a moron. :) Hugs.
Fabric made from the hair of Angora rabbits is called angora. Fabric made from the hair of Angora goats is called mohair. I believe she was referring to angora, not mohair.
I don't know how they treat the rabbits. I suppose if you're okay with wearing wool, then you should be fine with wearing angora.
The people who have thus far answered you are foolish. If it is a rug, then the angora is from a damn angora goat ---- not an angora rabbit! Rabbit fur doesn't wear well as a rug.
The angora goats are sheared and hence no harm comes to them.
I can't believe that only one other person in this forum is smart enough to know angora comes from a goat.
It is ethical to wear fur, leather or any other animal products. The animal isn't using it we might as well be.