Public Sphere Proposal

Jessica Mayes
Dr. Micer
English 201
1 April 2009
Public Sphere Project Proposal
For my public sphere project, I want to alert people to the cruel treatment of animals in fur farms and medical testing. I own thirteen chinchillas, and value them very much. They are very good and loving pets, and I have developed a deep connection with them. I found out about chinchilla fur coats a few years ago from my father, and I was appalled. Since then, I have researched it extensively and hope to find a way to abolish the fur industry completely. Through my research I have discovered that animals raised on fur farms are kept in extremely small living quarters like cages (Diamantis 35). They often mangle themselves and practice strange behaviors like pacing, indicative of stress (de Fraga 19). If an animal is not raised on a farm, it is often trapped in the wild. However, this is not always an instant death. Often times a trapped animal will try to gnaw off the captured limb, spending its last few moments in excruciating pain (Parker 32). When the time of execution comes, the animals may be gassed, electrocuted, or even skinned alive. None of these constitute an instant or painless death (Parker 32). For black bear fur, mother bears are often shot up to ten times, leaving their orphan cubs behind (Donahue 1). Animals are even killed while being used for medical and cosmetics testing. Cosmetics testing is often harmful to animals, and cosmetics are clearly not vital to human survival (Leepson 303). So why do we kill innocent animals so we can look pretty? I even found evidence that other effective sources exist to test cosmetics and medical treatments on (“Animal Testing” 1). One main piece of evidence I plan to use to dissuade people from wearing fur is to present the horrifying facts. For instance, many fur-trimmed coats have been made using dog and cat fur (Triggs 116; “Coats Made” 1). Imagine how many people would want to wear a coat made of their cute little puppy or kitten. Many sources say that killing or using animals for humanities purposes is unethical, and I agree. A fur coat is nothing more than a fashion statement, and it serves no real purpose except to show status. Killing animals for humanities vanity is wrong and selfish (“Animal Rights: Fur” 1). If it helps my point, I will even have religion on my side. Most religions like Buddhism and Jainism practice not harming any living creature (“Animal Rights” 1). This issue is very important to me, and I never want to hear about an innocent animal dying so that a celebrity can show off to the media. Though I am not an extremist, I may agree with some of their methods to convey my point. If it is necessary, I will show people the beautiful life that they are taking from an animal when they wear its fur. I plan to describe the bond that can be made with these animals, and how they are sentient beings that make wonderful companions. I will make flyers that describe some of these animals and their qualities to show their worth. I will also make pamphlets with facts and statistics describing the cruelty that these animals occur before they are brutally killed. Posters may also be used, with pictures of the fur clothing and the animals they are made from side by side, to illustrate the life that is lost when a fur garment is made. I hope to dissuade people from ever wanting to see an animal killed for it's fur, and for fashion purposes. As I like to say, the only thing that looks good in a chinchilla fur coat is a chinchilla!