Do you care where your bristles come from

I'm happy to stand corrected on that Gordy. I had always believed that ferrets were carnivores, however I've no experience of keeping them and my knowledge about them is entirely book gained.

JohnnyO. o/
 
Shavejourneybadger said:
Take a look at this...great animal welfare charity, a balenced artical IMHO

http://badger.org.uk/badgers/legislation/badger-hair-shaving-brushes.aspx
Click to expand...
Balanced it may be - but also naive if they really think brush makers would get an honest description of how badgers are killed if they asked their Chinese suppliers. I'm guessing that the lack of response from the makers is not because they want to hide anything - it's because they don't know. China is still very much a closed society so the only way you are likely to get at the truth would be to see the operation at first hand - I doubt if any of the bigger British and European makers would consider this a practical proposition.
 
A quick net search found this http://straightrazorplace.com/brushes/25698-information-how-badger-hair-obtained.html
Extract from the thread below:

Content of email received from Mr Mueller, Managing Director of Muhle Pinsel 27 August 2008

I was promising to get back to you with details about my trip. I apologize that this took longer than I initially planned.

As mentioned, before I travelled China to source raw materials for our products and also visited some fur trader as well as hair dressing companies throughout the country. In prior I prepared a list of question that I sent out before my departure. Here is what I have been informed as well as found out myself. I have faced them with the video and stated that we cannot tolerate such practices at all. It is understandable that I cannot trace the line all the way back to the individual hunters but I did make clear that the responsibility is also on the traders who should pass on the information to the individuals. I stated that our main concern is the way they are being killed and that that this needs to be carried out as humanely as possible.

1. Are the animals taking from the wild or are they farm raised?

The animals are generally taking from the wild. Hunters can apply for a license to hunt a certain number of badgers. I have been told that there is a close season to guarantee the survival of the population. Badgers can not be farm raised due to their wild nature.

2. From which regions do the animals come from?

Northern regions of China such as Shaanxi, Gansu, Tsinghai, Sinkiang, Inner Mongolia. Badgers dwell in hilly, densely wooded regions.

3. Which species are hunted or raised?

Arctonyx collaris (hog badger) - and Meles Meles (Eurasian badger)

4. Nature of the hunt, traps, dogs, lamping, gassing?

Mostly gassing which is most efficient method of the hunt. They are gassed in the sett, mostly with the aid of a tube connecting to the animal sett. This practice is performed in Europe too to control the population and supposed to be the most effective and least painful to the animals.

5. time of the hunt (are there close seasons and will they maintained)?

The hunting season starts in September all the way though January. The close season starts in February through to the fall

6. is a overpopulation classified as pest in China and considered a threat to crop and livestock?

It is considered as vermin. The population has always been controlled as it can spread rabies and bovine tuberculosis

7. is the population monitored by the government?

The population is monitored by the chinese federal nature agency as well as by the IUCN. Here are the links to the two species 2007 IUCN Red List – Search / 2007 IUCN Red List – Search

8. is the meat / fat of the animal commercially used as well?

This is one fact that I was always hesitating to believe. The meat, especially in the northern regions of the country, is a source of food. The consumption of the meat is more widespread than thought. It cannot be said that the badgers are mainly hunted for the meat, as the hair is more valuably, however meat and fat is a important by product of the trade. The fat is used in the Chinese medicine as a rheumatism treatment.

I will travel to China again in October and hope to find out more information on the subject. I am glad we were able to make the suppliers aware of the fact that people in Europe and elsewhere are concerned about the way the hair is gained.

Best regards,

Christian Mueller
 
A question seldom asked is what exactly is a synthetic fibre made from? Is it good for the skin?
Badger all the way as its a traditional hobby and the lather consistency and face feel IMO cannot be beaten
 
Nishy said:
A question seldom asked is what exactly is a synthetic fibre made from? Is it good for the skin?
Badger all the way as its a traditional hobby and the lather consistency and face feel IMO cannot be beaten
Click to expand...

I worked in the plastics industry for a number of years. Any production of synthetic materials is always going to negatively affect the environment. They are oil-based and I'm sure the concerns regarding the extraction and burning of fossil fuels has been more thoroughly and widely documented than the fur trade effects. With anything we purchase now, we must take a responsibility as to how it comes to be with us.
Personally I take the food miles scenario very seriously. I try to cut that out as much as I can.
 
Uncle Bertie said:
A quick net search found this http://straightrazorplace.com/brushes/25698-information-how-badger-hair-obtained.html
Extract from the thread below:

Content of email received from Mr Mueller, Managing Director of Muhle Pinsel 27 August 2008

I was promising to get back to you with details about my trip. I apologize that this took longer than I initially planned.

As mentioned, before I travelled China to source raw materials for our products and also visited some fur trader as well as hair dressing companies throughout the country. In prior I prepared a list of question that I sent out before my departure. Here is what I have been informed as well as found out myself. I have faced them with the video and stated that we cannot tolerate such practices at all. It is understandable that I cannot trace the line all the way back to the individual hunters but I did make clear that the responsibility is also on the traders who should pass on the information to the individuals. I stated that our main concern is the way they are being killed and that that this needs to be carried out as humanely as possible.

1. Are the animals taking from the wild or are they farm raised?

The animals are generally taking from the wild. Hunters can apply for a license to hunt a certain number of badgers. I have been told that there is a close season to guarantee the survival of the population. Badgers can not be farm raised due to their wild nature.

2. From which regions do the animals come from?

Northern regions of China such as Shaanxi, Gansu, Tsinghai, Sinkiang, Inner Mongolia. Badgers dwell in hilly, densely wooded regions.

3. Which species are hunted or raised?

Arctonyx collaris (hog badger) - and Meles Meles (Eurasian badger)

4. Nature of the hunt, traps, dogs, lamping, gassing?

Mostly gassing which is most efficient method of the hunt. They are gassed in the sett, mostly with the aid of a tube connecting to the animal sett. This practice is performed in Europe too to control the population and supposed to be the most effective and least painful to the animals.

5. time of the hunt (are there close seasons and will they maintained)?

The hunting season starts in September all the way though January. The close season starts in February through to the fall

6. is a overpopulation classified as pest in China and considered a threat to crop and livestock?

It is considered as vermin. The population has always been controlled as it can spread rabies and bovine tuberculosis

7. is the population monitored by the government?

The population is monitored by the chinese federal nature agency as well as by the IUCN. Here are the links to the two species 2007 IUCN Red List – Search / 2007 IUCN Red List – Search

8. is the meat / fat of the animal commercially used as well?

This is one fact that I was always hesitating to believe. The meat, especially in the northern regions of the country, is a source of food. The consumption of the meat is more widespread than thought. It cannot be said that the badgers are mainly hunted for the meat, as the hair is more valuably, however meat and fat is a important by product of the trade. The fat is used in the Chinese medicine as a rheumatism treatment.

I will travel to China again in October and hope to find out more information on the subject. I am glad we were able to make the suppliers aware of the fact that people in Europe and elsewhere are concerned about the way the hair is gained.

Best regards,

Christian Mueller
Click to expand...
interesting email thanks for posting
 
Nishy said:
A question seldom asked is what exactly is a synthetic fibre made from? Is it good for the skin?
Badger all the way as its a traditional hobby and the lather consistency and face feel IMO cannot be beaten
Click to expand...
It is my understanding that a population of Korg were sectioned off and cut up accordingly, poor synths, save the synth :D

korg_microkorg_xl.jpg
 
pjgh said:
Not to be deliberately argumentative, but I do wonder just how ethical horse hair collection is. We read that it is part of the "natural grooming" but I do wonder whether there are lines of horses tethered up to have manes and tail hair removed for the industry. For some reason, I can't get Angora rabbits out of my head when I think about horse hair brushes.
Click to expand...
Horses are raised for meat in Europe so the hair must come from these animals. Horses are groomed by their owners or stables so its extremely unlikely that this hair would be collected up & sent off to the maker. You would need hundreds of stables signed up to achieve the required quantity. Also hair from grooming is going to be of poorer quality.
 
Vie Long claim that
"Horses are not harmed during collection process. “Hair cut” is part of the horse care and hygiene"
Makes sense that you don't need to kill a horse to trim it's mane or tail.
I've only tried one - the Vie Long epsilon. Not at all scritchy.
 
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