In recent years more and more people and companies have been turning against the fur industry, questioning the ethics of harvesting wild animals just for high fashion.
Many areas have recently issued bans on their sale, including the state of California.
There are many arguments against fur, but maybe the most convincing is just taking a look at the face of the animal set to become a coat.
That’s what one woman did… and not only rescued the cute animal’s life, but gave it a loving new home.
For centuries, sable fur coats have been among the most coveted and expensive in the world, due to their smooth, richly colored coat.
While luxurious, they don’t compare with how beautiful the sables are when they’re still alive:
Sables, while largely seen as a source of valuable fur in their native Russia, are also adorable… and when a woman named Zhenya laid her eyes on one, she immediately fell in love…
…and was heartbroken when she found out she was fated to become a coat.
But amazingly, she got the chance to save the animal’s life.
“Eventually, I learned that there was an opportunity to buy her out from a fur farm,” Zhenya told Bored Panda. “She would have died there, so I decided to save the little fella.”
However, the sable couldn’t be returned into the wild, so she decided to take her home and keep her as a pet instead.
The two have become a cute, inseparable pair. Zhenya has been posting updates about their adventures on an Instagram called @russian_sable.
But raising a sable as a pet has its challenges. Not only is the animal out of her natural habitat, she’s also scarred by the experience of being in fur farm.
“Umora has a difficult personality,” Zhenya said. “Living in the fur farm really took a toll on her, so she’s quite emotional, sometimes even a bit hysterical. Umora is also cheeky and likes to steal stuff. She’s very active and smart as well.”
She cautions anyone interested in adopting a sable themselves that it can be an ordeal: “It requires a lot of time and patience. It might even take a couple of years for you to begin to fully enjoy your life with it.”
But Zhenya and Umora are happy together. Whatever challenges they face, it was worth it to save the life of an animal.
Thank you to this woman for seeing the beauty of this sable beyond its fur!
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