Should you be condemned for wearing fur?

AS A committed animal lover and anti-fur campaigner, I’m not howling at Fiona McIntosh for wearing her granny’s fur (Femail). In fact, I agree with her reasons for doing so. What I do campaign against is the fashion for raccoon pompoms on beanies and coyote collars on designer anoraks. Raccoon dogs are bred on fur farms in China and Russia, spending their short lives in crates with no bedding, often suffering freezing conditions to make their fur thicker. Coyote are caught in steel traps and can spend days trying to chew off their limb in a bid to escape until a trapper arrives to finish them off. Wear old fur by all means — it’s better than faux fur, which is adding to our plastic problem. But please don’t buy new fur, which can be the result of animal abuse.

ANGELA HUMPHERY, London NW3. LIKE Fiona McIntosh, I wear fur. I have two coats, a mink and a musquash, that have been passed down to me through my husband’s family. I wear them with delight because they are wonderfully warm. And if anyone comments about fur, I say witheringly: ‘Oh, for heaven’s sake, can’t you tell fake when you see it?’ N. J. SWINNEY, Bromley, Kent. I HAVE acquired some wonderful vintage furs which in my youth I could only dream of. They were a lot cheaper than faux fur. Under no circumstances would I buy new fur because of the conditions farmed animals are kept in. I wish equal concern was shown for cattle, sheep, chickens and all other animals farmed for consumption. MARION RAEHSE, Swanage, Dorset.