Estética, peletería y extinción de especies. El visón europeo como ejemplo

Abstract

One of the main causes why the European mink, Mustela lutreola , is in danger of extinction is the fur industry. On the one hand, during the 19th and 20th centuries, hunting for its fur caused a serious decline in the species. On the other hand, from the 1920s the fur industry began to replace the hunt for breeding in captivity, and Europe was filled with American mink, Neovison vison, farms; some of them escaped, colonized the continent and have become a threat to the European mink. Nowadays, some countries are beginning to ban these farms, which on the contrary are increasing in Spain. The objective of this article is to analyze this specific case as an example of how our aesthetic tastes may result harmful and even lethal for other species and nature in general.