Shaking my head
Okay - first and foremost I am an Alaskan - not by birth, but I have lived over half my life in this state.
As an Alaskan, I have a very healthy respect for the bears that wander through our town - our yards - it’s just smart to know that it is time to keep the dog food in, the garbage in, the bird feeders down.
So, is it any wonder that I shake my head when I read such a story as this one about Maxine Tylor? Maxine works at a trading post in New Hampshire, and is a prolific knitter. The folks for whom she works asked her if she would like to knit with bear fur - yes, folks, you read correctly . . . BEAR fur!
Okay - if you can afford the yarn, Alaskans can knit with musk ox wool, but a musk ox is not about to E.A.T. you for taking its fur, you know?
The bears whose fur is spun into yarn live at the trading post where Maxine works, however. They are used to (wo)men being around them and, according to the article, love to have their coats combed to help them in the shedding process each summer.
You can see a picture of Maxine with one of the bears here.
The article treats this as a privilege - Maxine being allowed entrusted with the yarn to knit. I suppose I would treat qiviut (musk ox wool) as a privilege to knit. But, as an Alaskan who is very aware of what bears can do I’m just not all that excited about using bears in this manner - there is a disclaimer at the bottom of the trading post’s website about the bears: *It is important to note that the bears are never forced to perform.*
WEll - duh!
I guess I’m sort of on a soapbox here, but can anyone remember Timothy Treadwell? Or, less widely published perhaps, but still remembered: Marcie Trent and her son, Larry Waldron. Marcie and I ran several 10k runs together - well, she would pass me and encourage me as I slogged along, but we were on the same courses at the same time.
You know, one just has to wonder: if P-E-T-A is all up in arms about Anchorage having an elephant in its zoo - where in the world are they with bears being kept and used like the trading post in NH? Sometimes you just gotta wonder.
rant, soapbox, bear fur, bear yarn, knitting, bears, Timothy Treadwell, Marcie Trent, Larry Waldron, New Hamshire, Alaska, qiviut, musk ox, musk ox fur, musk ox yarn
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