Recently I have noticed a growing trend that seems to have been sparked by celebrities, so I decided to check into it to find out more. I first saw feather hair extensions at a concert where a lot of women had them throughout their hair. A friend of mine loved them so much, she had a few put in her hair that same day. As much as I liked the way they looked, I wanted to know more about the source.
Most people would just assume that the feathers they are seeking for their hair don’t really cause any harm, or they just don’t care. Originally, feather extensions came from bait shops that used rooster feathers for fly-fishing bait. Now the demand is up so much that farms are raising roosters specifically for hair accessories and thousands of roosters are dying because of it.
To me, this seems crazy. These roosters are being genetically altered just so they can produce feathers extra long and colorful. Any large concentrated animal feeding area has a high impact on the environment, from harmful land waste to chemical runoffs in our water sources. Sadly, once the roosters have all of their feathers plucked off, they are killed and either used for compost or just thrown out.
So instead of being a complete downer, I thought it would be nice to offer some cruelty-free feather sources. I have to admit, feathers are beautiful, but they aren’t meant to be in my hair … The feather look can be duplicated with things such as ribbons and even faux feathers. You can even find no-kill feathers and have a little peace of mind knowing you haven’t killed a bird for your accessory.
If you must have real feathers, try and look into the source and find a company that cares. Fine Featherheads gets its feathers from Whiting Farms. Owner Tom Whiting provides healthy, stress-free environments for his birds, which are 100 percent natural, antibiotic and hormone free. As nice as the farm is, the birds are still humanely euthanized for their feathers.
There is nothing more important than moral progress and knowing the truth behind everything. With that being said, I will leave you with a Mahatma Gandhi quote that will hopefully make you think about what’s really important:
“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”
| Tweet | Follow @wkdr |
|
|
