Humane Society International released disturbing footage of a mountain of dead foxes at an Asian fur farm. The footage is a part of the organization's investigation of eleven fur farms in Asia that export pelt products to the United Kingdom.
![[Graphic Video] A Mountain of Dead Foxes was Captured from a Fur Farm in Asia](https://1721181113.rsc.cdn77.org/data/images/full/28361/graphic-video-a-mountain-of-dead-foxes-was-captured-from-a-fur-farm-in-asia.jpg?w=820 "[Graphic Video] A Mountain of Dead Foxes was Captured from a Fur Farm in Asia")
Foxes are among the one hundred million animals bred and brutally killed in fur farms to supply a range of products for the fashion industry. Around the globe, real animal fur is used to make fur coats, fur trim for hoodies, hats, shoes, and other accessories.
Other pelt animals include minks, raccoon dogs, and rabbits - namely in Europe and China. Slowly, countries have banned the cruel practice of fur farming.
Inside the unnamed fox farm in Asia, a reporter described it as 'like a scene from hell.' Foxes were skinned alive while others were beaten with a metal bar.
After retrieving the animal's fur, the dead and barely alive foxes were tossed into piles, amounting to thousands of bodies. The Humane Society International, an animal rights charity, released recent aerial footage.
'Mountain of Dead Bodies'
Footage from the fox farm revealed that the animals were covered in their own feces due to the restricting, tiny cages. Their water bowls are also normally left empty. The horrendous living conditions changed the animals' mental behavior, causing them to sway and pace repetitively.
When the fur coats are at their prime, before becoming a year old, the animals are beaten, but not to death. The workers would hit their heads with a metal bar repeatedly, keeping the animals alive while inflicting immense injury and pain.
After, the foxes are skinned of their beautiful winter fur. This happens while they are alive and moving, then soon tossed into a pile with the rest of the foxes.
'I've never seen so much death in one place. It really shocked me and I had to steady myself to keep filming,' said the workers from the charity. 'There was a mountain of dead bodies, there must have been tens of thousands of animals discarded like rubbish like their lives meant nothing.'
Read Also: 600,000 Minks Have Died of Coronavirus in the Netherlands, Possibly Ending the Pelt Industry
The Fur Trade
Chris Packham, a naturalist, and TV wildlife presenter said, 'I am astonished at the depravity of the fur trade. This investigation is like a scene from hell and anyone who knowingly wears fur should not turn away from watching it. Aside from the unbelievable cruelty of their deaths, these foxes and raccoon dogs will have endured utterly miserable lives.'
While fur farming has increasingly been banned all over the world, no country has completely banned imported fur products yet. The UK continues to import from European and Asian countries, but Humane Culture Global is working on a blanket ban on fur profits in the country.
Luke Pollard, a Member of Parliament for the Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs said, 'The animal suffering revealed in HSI's investigation is truly sickening.' The fur industry is 'outdated and unnecessary' and does not belong in the UK's fashion industry, he said.
Read Also: The COVID-19 Pandemic Leads to Increase in Animal Abuse and Abandonment: Here's Why
