farmed Russian sable vs wild Russian sable

[Guest]

It seems like after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the number of wild Russian sable pelts offered at Sojuzpushnina has been far greater than the the number of farmed Russian sable pelts.

 

While all Russian sable is luscious and beautiful, the wild sourced pelts have an allure all their own. They are shaggy and wild looking. Their color is rich and complex. The farmed pelts seem to be much flatter in texture with much more even color. The wild sourced pelts come from east of the Urals and eat a natural diet. The farmed pelts come from fur farms west of the Urals and eat a man-made diet.

 

Tricia

[Worker 11811]

I don't know for sure but I imagine that, without the support of the Communist government, a lot of businesses have gone under. I would guess that the fur industry is no different.

 

Thus, I would guess that, if there are fewer fur farms in Russia, people who produce sable fur would need to get it from another source. Therefore, they would need to trap from the wild. I can also guess that when those farms went under, many of the animals ended up escaping or being released. Therefore, once-caged animals now live in the wild.

 

Those are two reasons I can think of for why this happened.

 

I have a tough time deciding whether I like wild fur or farmed fur. I think wild fur looks more like the way fur "should" look but farmed fur is more consistent. It's hard to decide between the two.

[Guest]

Many Russian fur farms went under because they could no longer rely on financial support from the government, including subsidized animal feed.

 

I'm pretty sure that many sables died of starvation on the fur farms and/or were put down.

 

Tricia

[Guest]

I doubt the Russians would release sable from the fur farms. There is no habitat for them in western Russia adjacent to the fur farms. They would have to travel long distances to reach suitable habitat.

 

Tricia