THE NEW INDUSTRY.
The industry is to be welcomed on many grounds. The foxes on these farms look sleek and contented—indeed, often singularly merry. Cruelty may be altogether elimi- nated ; and it is better that animals should be so bred than that the scattered wild creatures should be trapped and suffer the pain that is inseparable from the capture. The industry is to be welcomed—with a proviso. A very great number of fur-bearing animals, especially foxes, are going to be killed for their skins. We cannot decide what other people do, and the British produce will be a minute percentage of the whole industry. But we may give a lead and our example will certainly be contagious. The obligation is laid on us : first to discover and decide what is the best and most humane method of killing, and then vigorously to enforce its use. It is at the beginning of an industry that such regula- tions are most easily and effectively introduced.
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