SMF

I'm no tree hugger, you won't see me throw red paint over a mink coat, but you won't see me decked out in fur either. I wear my fair share of leather, and eat any and all things meat . I'll read the label on the shampoo to see if it is tested on animals, I will be happy if it isn't but will probably still buy it even if it is.

Anyway, when I started looking into wetshaving I actually thought about this very question, and found a site that proclaimed that the badgers were not harmed, they were shorn, like sheep (their example, not mine). Now reading this thread I followed the link to the Jack Black page linked, where it says that the badgers were required to be killed in order to construct a brush. Does anyone know what the practice actually is within the industry?

Dave,

Here's a few pages that may contain what you are looking for.

Randy

DaveInPhilly wrote:I'm no tree hugger, you won't see me throw red paint over a mink coat, but you won't see me decked out in fur either. I wear my fair share of leather, and eat any and all things meat . I'll read the label on the shampoo to see if it is tested on animals, I will be happy if it isn't but will probably still buy it even if it is.

Anyway, when I started looking into wetshaving I actually thought about this very question, and found a site that proclaimed that the badgers were not harmed, they were shorn, like sheep (their example, not mine). Now reading this thread I followed the link to the Jack Black page linked, where it says that the badgers were required to be killed in order to construct a brush. Does anyone know what the practice actually is within the industry?

It is true.

In places where most of the badger fur comes from, the badger is actually considered vermin. Like a rat in New York, basically a pest to their crops and such.

I would think they were laughing all the way to the bank, killing something they despise and making money in the process...

Imagine if we could do that to the rats in New York.

Can you imagine trying to lather up with a live badger?

Ichabod wrote:Can you imagine trying to lather up with a live badger?

Maybe a rabid badger

Scott

ScottS wrote:

Ichabod wrote:Can you imagine trying to lather up with a live badger?

Maybe a rabid badger

Scott

Would that be the equivalent of a Fusion Power brush?

Ichabod wrote: Would that be the equivalent of a Fusion Power brush?

More like that mid-80's Gillette shave cream with the brush on the end. Sort of like a brush that provides its own lather!

Scott

This requires this link to be posted.


Adam

Adam-

Many thanks for the Badgers Badgers Badgers (mushroom, mushroom) link. Until you had mentioned it I had not made the connection between my brush and Badgers Badgers Badgers (mushroom, mushroom), which happens to be my 5 childrens' favorite website.

I can already imagine little blonde haired Victoria (aged 3.75 years) asking me "Daddy, did you kill Badgers Badgers Badgers just so you can shave?" "Daddy, please don't kill Badgers Badgers Badgers any more" and she'll extend her bottom lip in what is colloquially called "boo-boo lip" and I'll feel like Adolph Eichmann.

Thank you Adam.

-Scott

Sorry Scott. I don't feel particularly great about the method of obtaining the brushes either; I think badgers are cool. But I also have this weird thing about respect for animals and for what they are sacrificing for us. Probably something to do with that miniscule bit of American Indian I have in my bloodline.

Anyway, I'll keep using my badger brush, but I don't think I'll buy any more of them.


Adam

Hello Adam,

Nothing at all escapes the wheel of ex-istence. One side of the coin is devouring and being devoured. Our bodies become, if buried, worm food. The other side, more rarely brought to mind, is the innermost link among all beings. AFAIK, the traditional Indian (distinct from the Hindu Tradition) mentality tended to be aware of this link.

As long as humans do not torture badgers or subject them to excess suffering, there would not seem to be an issue with demanding badger shaving brushes, AFAICS.

Perhaps our friends in New York can find some useful shaving or other application for rat fur.

Greetings,

lux

I shall be strong; I shall be brave
To help you blokes enjoy your shaves
My final wish is but one hope --
That Martians turn you into soap.

Ichabod wrote:Can you imagine trying to lather up with a live badger?

It would look like this;

Meet my pet badger, Foamy. You haven't lived until you've used a trained live badger.

Cliff

Hawkish wrote:This requires this link to be posted.


Adam

No matter how hard I tried, no matter what music I blasted in my car at lunch time, my head was filled with badgers badgers badgers...

Disturbing!

They kill 'um dead to use them. Just like cows and pigs and chickens are generally killed dead to be used. That's just the way it is!

honkdonker wrote:They kill 'um dead to use them. Just like cows and pigs and chickens are generally killed dead to be used. That's just the way it is!

Just for the sake of argument, I do eat the cows and pigs and chickens, so I can more easily justify their killing, as opposed to killing an animal purely for my cosmetic purposes.

I have no intentions to abandon my brush anytime soon. I was more curious than anything when I started this thread (although apparently I should have done a little searching first ), but I will think twice before I start padding my collection. I doubt I will buy another until this one no longer serves its purpose.

I assume that when the Chinese harvest badger pelts, they sell the meat, etc as food. They are not skinning badgers solely to supply a few brushmakers. So, Dave, the badger that provided your brush could have fed a large family in China. On the other hand, I shudder to think of the poor dogs and cats in small cages being sold as food in farmers markets in some Asian countries. Somehow, the fact that they're domesticated and household pets here makes it impossible to accept....

Chris

Chris73 wrote:I assume that when the Chinese harvest badger pelts, they sell the meat, etc as food. They are not skinning badgers solely to supply a few brushmakers. So, Dave, the badger that provided your brush could have fed a large family in China. On the other hand, I shudder to think of the poor dogs and cats in small cages being sold as food in farmers markets in some Asian countries. Somehow, the fact that they're domesticated and household pets here makes it impossible to accept....
Chris

1st person: Excuse me sir, I'm looking for my dog, have you seen him?

2nd person: Did he have big juicy hind legs? (he says as he'a working a toothpick in his mouth)




This is a joke, so if it offends you, sorry..

Which reminds me:

Q: Where do you find a dog with no legs?

A: Where you left him!

Chris