Cruel.
The fur industry's animal welfare record is woeful.
ETA: NightF:
I have absolutely no time whatsoever for PeTA. They're a repellent organisation that do more harm than good to the animals they profess to care about.
You said, " I wish people would wear coyote fur instead of buying fur from fur farms. Coyotes are pests and it's way better to be frolicking along in the sunshine then BAM suddenly you're dead than to be raised to be killed."
and
"As a last note, I'd like to again point to coyotes- they are invasive pests over much of North America, and hunters are paid bounties to shoot them /and they are left to rot/. Wouldn't it be far better to use the fur from coyotes that would be killed anyway to make coats instead of having new ones made from fake, non-biodegradable materials?"
I'd go along with that. In fact - if the fur industry actually sorted themselves out and could assure me of the conditions that the fur was acquired - then coyote fur would be more than acceptable. I'd promote it myself.
However, the best I'm aware of that the fur industry has come up with is the "origin assured" label.
http://www.originassured.com/index.php/site_wide/
Woefully inadequate. It seems that the only "assurance" about the furs' origin is that it has come from a country where they have some animal welfare laws. The fur MIGHT have been produced in a manner that is marginally less cruel than in the PeTA videos. So what?
" American fur farms actually are very humane."
Really? How humane is "very"? I've seen footage of some European fur farms and it's fair to say that some of them are definitely not as barbaric as some of the factory farms that produce meat. "Less barbaric" is not the same as "humane".
You said,
"Also, to everyone saying "no way should fur be used ever", what about byproduct fur? Do you know all the useful things that come from mink fur farms? Plant food, dog food, bonemeal for agriculture...fur is a small part of the big picture."
I'm not saying that "no way should fur be used ever". If the fur industry could sort itself out and give GENUINE assurances about the welfare of the animals used, I'd have no problem with it.
As for the byproducts of the fur industry - they are available from other sources. You don't need to support a cruel industry to get them.
"And what about vintage furs? Are you going to hate me because I use clothes from before your grandma was born?"
I don't hate you, but I'd prefer even vintage fur was given away. Simply because of a tendency for people to follow the crowd. People might see somebody wearing vintage furs and be inspired to buy new fur.
As I said - if the fur industry sorted itself out so that it was genuinely possible to buy ethically produced fur, I'd have no issue with vintage fur being worn.
As things stand though, the fur industry is so far away from having any credible claims that fur production isn't cruel, that revulsion at fur is the most appropriate response.
I stand by my original position. It's cruel.