Friday, December 28, 2007

A Possum Problem

Possum fur presents me with a dilemma. It shouldn't be a dilemma - I am sure that it's not right to kill animals purely so we can wear their fur, and I wouldn't dream of buying new fur at home. But possum fur is the Softest Thing Ever. Possums are pests here - they litter the roadside as roadkill, and the government seems to be encouraging people to kill them, but they also provide fur that goes into some of the softest hats, scarves, and jumpers that I've ever felt. The possums are skinned and somehow the fur is removed and combined with merino wool to make knitted goodies. Straight-up possum fur is also used for trimmings on hats and bags and that sort of thing, as well as some less practical items of clothing, and the hides are sold intact for some purpose that I can't imagine. Apparently it is the only fur known to man, apart from that of polar bears, which doesn't freeze, so I bet it's lovely and warm too.

You can guess from all this that I really really really want something made out of possum fur, but I don't want a possum to die for me. Does anyone know of any fur farms where the fur is gently combed off the animals as they recline on velvet cushions eating choice nibbles and perhaps enjoying a relaxing massage?

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

hee... is it bad I know exactly what those things in the picture are! I take it you didn't buy them.

Happy new year :)

Jo

Anonymous said...

If I was a possum I'd rather die as roadkill rather than being "combed" for my hair. That's SOOOO cruel.

Happy New Year!


Big Bro.

Donovan said...

Well... possums are more likely to be poisoned by the government paid teams that go around kulling the vermin. I've met people who do that as a job, as from what I have heard about the possums, using their fur is the least of their worries.

J Mason said...

http://www.merinopossum.co.nz/

have a look here, there is info on possum yarn. I did a bit of a google, and it seems like all possum yarn comes from dead possums, which is a shame because I now really want to try some and I just can't!

Jo

Jenny said...

I really really really want some too, but despite everything I've read it still seems wrong. I may have to read more government literature to convince me that it's alright to wear fur after all.

It's just so soft... *sigh*

J Mason said...

I'm emailing you some info I found.