This is important to me, folks

‘Tails’ was recently reviewed over at Sequential Tart.  It was fair and balanced, but I feel like I need to address an excerpt from the review:

“If the first two pages had been the first two I’d seen, I would have stopped reading. Period. The PETA-esque extremism and hate is a huge turn-off. First of all, the fur coat the lady is wearing is not made of dogs (yes, I know the author knows this as well, but it’s a poor analogy). Secondly, calling someone a “bear’s vagina” is so far from an intelligent argument or even a good savvy comment to make to someone wearing furs when you’re anti-fur that it’s not even funny. Animal Rights activists should be outraged at such a comment, so I hope the author’s not trying to gain support for the anti-fur angle. Insulting someone is never going to get them to change their ways. Thankfully for Ethan, I had seen his humor in later pages so I kept reading, but had a mental note to stop if any other such vulgar comments were made.”

Now, those of you who have been following ‘Tails’ since the beginning know that I’m Vegan (or at least you should know).  I don’t think of myself as an ‘extremist’, but I do understand and accept the fact that my views and opinions might seem a tad extreme to some of you (if not most of you).  You may also have picked up that I have a huge potty mouth.  What can I say, that’s just the way I am.  If you don’t share my sense of humor, then there’s nothing I can do about it.

I don’t blame the reviewer for being offended by the first couple of pages.  To be fair, she also said a lot of nice things about ‘Tails’.  I’m not here to challenge the reviewer’s comments.  I am, however, here to point out that she got one thing very wrong, where she noted “…the fur coat the lady is wearing is not made of dogs.”

The fur industry does use cat and dog fur imported from China.  Sorta like how we slaughter horses in this country but ship the meat to France (because I’m guessing the average American doesn’t want to have My Little Pony for dinner). Granted, not all the fur used is from cats and dogs, but make no mistake that cats and dogs do get killed for their fur — and their meat, for that matter.  Bender Burgers, anyone?  (If you get that reference, kudos to you!)

When I first started fostering my cats, my mother told me a story (partly in guilt) about how she had to chop the head off of a dog; a dog who was kind, loyal and had a sweet disposition.  But at the end of the day, they needed to do what had to be done.  I don’t — or can’t — blame my mom for what she was forced to do back in Communist China (especially since their dictator at the time was horrendous).  But it’s a fact of life that in some places, cats and dogs get slaughtered on a daily basis – and some of the by-products, such as their fur, will find their way back to our shores.  Cat and dog fur is usually mislabeled, so people will be none the wiser.

I’ve included a link to an undercover video that shows cats and dogs being transported and skinned for fur.  Warning: it’s fairly long and graphic, and you may not even be able to stomach watching the whole thing.  Some of you will respond with shock, some with disbelief, some with indifference, and I’m gonna guess that some will have your defense mechanisms kick in and respond with humor.  “Haha, they stomped on that kitten!!”

But please, if you do decide to click on that link to watch the video, click on it with an open mind.

I’m not here to convert anybody, or force people to join some cause (if I wanted to do that, I’d post animal rights banners all over the bloody site).  I just want to inform people; especially when others spread misinformation.

Sorry for getting all pseudo-political on you folks, I’m sure this all seemed rather trivial to most of you.

Now back to the comic.