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- Alternative meanings: There is a group of people called the Fur, who live in the Darfur province of Sudan; Heraldic fur performs special functions in heraldry.
The term fur refers to the fine, soft body hair of nonhuman mammals. True fur comes from animals where the coat consists of short ground hair, long guard hair, and, in some cases, medium awn hair. Not all mammals have fur; animals without fur may have the epithet "naked", as in The Naked Ape and naked mole rat.
Fur clothing
Fur served as an important source of clothing for humans, especially in cold countries, where it remains a popular luxury item. Sources of fur for clothing include:
The creation of fur clothing involves leaving the hair on the animal's processed skin; in contrast, leather such as sheepskin involves removing the fur from the skin and using only the skin, and the use of wool involves shearing the animal's hair without harming the animal so that the wool can be regrown. Fake fur designates any synthetic material that mimics the appearance and feel of real fur, without the use of animal products.
The fur trade played an important economic role in the past. Fur trappers explored and opened up large parts of North America, and the fashion for beaver hats led to intense competition for supplies of raw materials. Starting in the latter half of the 20th century, producers and wearers of fur have been criticized because of mounting beliefs that animal trapping and fur farms are cruel, and that the killing of animals for clothing is made unnecessary by modern natural and synthetic fibers.
The soft, warm texture of fur appeals to many people; for some, the attraction becomes a fur fetishism, a fetishistic attraction to people wearing fur, or in certain cases, to the fur garments themselves.