History Main / SapientFurTrade

* ''Manga/TokyoGhoul'': The bodies of Ghouls can be used to produce numerous valuable products. The Quinque, the primary weapons used by Ghoul Investigators to hunt ghouls, are made from the predatory organ of a slain ghoul. Rendered down bodies can also be used to produce Quinque Steel or an RC solution of unknown purpose. As such, ghouls are hunted not simply because they are considered [[FantasticRacism dangerous]] beings without any rights, but because their bodies are extremely useful. A prime example of this is in the backstory of the [[CainAndAbel Kirishima]] siblings -- their father was a peaceful scavenger that lived in harmony with his human neighbors. Though known to be harmless, he was targeted and hunted down because he was considered valuable "material". His kagune was used to produce the experimental Arata Armors for the CCG.

* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'': Hydro-Man once bought his girlfriend a fur coat that was supposedly made from Tigra's pelt (it was actually fake), implying that the Marvel universe might have a black market for goods made from furry heroes or villains.
* ''ComicBook/XMen'': Sometimes in non-canon alternate universes where AnyoneCanDie and [[EverybodyDiesEnding often do]] the only remains of the X-Man Beast is his pelt used like a rug or coat.

* ''Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse'': Trandoshans such as Bossk are a ProudHunterRace with no real hangups about hunting sapient beings, and in particular hunt Wookiees and take their pelts as trophies for a religious ritual. Ironically there's one story where Bossk is taken prisoner and an Imperial governor wants to make him into a lizard-skin jacket for his wife.

* ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'': In ''The Extreme,'' Ax states that the alien race of Venber were driven to extinction when it was discovered that their silicon-based bodies can be melted down into an extremely efficient coolant and superconductor.
* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'': There's a single mention in ''Literature/EqualRites'' of a caravan leader wearing a trollhide jerkin. His ''Discworld Companion'' entry notes that trollhide is no longer considered an acceptable clothing material. Hunting trolls for sport is mentioned in ''Literature/TheFifthElephant'' (as is werewolves hunting ''humans'' for sport). (The trollburger mentioned in ''Literature/{{Mort}}'' is ''probably'' a burger ''for'' a troll since, whatever uses humans may find for the remains of silicaceous lifeforms, edibility is not one of them.)
* ''[[Literature/{{Paradox}} Earthrise]]'', by Creator/MCAHogarth: There's one scene where Irene, a Harat-Shariin[[note]]one of those races of human-animal hybrids known collectively as "the Pelted"[[/note]], suggests that maybe surrendering to the pirates chasing them and being sold into slavery isn't such a bad thing. So Reese suggests that maybe they want to make her into a rug instead. That's enough to scare her into changing her mind. Later, in ''Only the Open'', a liner is attacked by pirates who start killing human passengers and stunning Pelted ones, and the telepath Jahir confirms that they're furriers before fighting them off.
* ''Literature/TheHelmsmanSaga'': The [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Leaguers]] are hunting the Sodeskayan Bears (Soviet expies) for their pelts.
* "Hunting Problem", by Creator/RobertSheckley: Played with. Aliens from a distant world consider it a rite of passage to hunt down and skin a dangerous creature named "Mirash", whom they believe to be naturally cunning but not sentient. It turns out, however, that "Mirash" are actually the occasional human visitors of their planet, and [[spoiler:"skinning" them actually only involves taking the fancy space suits they usually arrive in]].
* ''Literature/LittleFuzzy'': Lampshaded.

** At first Jack Holloway thinks that wanting to sell fuzzy furs is Leonard Kellogg's motivation for wanting to find them non-sapient. Only later is Jack reminded that fuzzies being sapient would invalidate the Chartered Zarathustra Company's charter.

* "Literature/{{Mirage}}", by Creator/CliffordSimak: One of the seven sexes of the Martians has been almost completely exterminated by humans who prized their fur, which could sell for fifty thousand dollars a pelt.

* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': In "Phases", Kane is a werewolf hunter who hunts werewolves to sell their pelts on the black market. The fact that his targets are humans for all but three nights a month does not bother him in the slightest.

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'': Less prominent in 5E, but in many older editions there were all kinds of uses for the hides, teeth, claws, and bones of sapient monsters for crafting armor, weapons, and magic items. The ''cloak of displacement'', for example, was in older editions actually made from the hide of a displacer beast. Dragon-scale armor still exists, though it's noted in the 5E description that it can be crafted out of the shed scales of a living dragon -- some dragons even collect their own scales to make the armor as a gift for a humanoid they particularly like.

* Classic ''TabletopGame/{{Traveller}}'', FASA supplement ''Action Aboard: Adventures on the King Richard''. Commander Garr-Grek Vaerr is a Vargr: a sapient alien genetically engineered from Earth canines. He hates the hunter Hugo Grovet because of rumors that Grovet hunts and kills Vargr for their pelts.

** In ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'', you can slay fully sentient dragons, rip out their souls to learn the [[MakeMeWannaShout Thu'um]], and then turn their bones and scales into armor or weapons. (Or sell them for a hefty profit.) Don't feel bad - the vast majority of dragons are [[AssholeVictim utter assholes]].

* ''ComicStrip/{{Popeye}}'': The King Features cartoon "Valley of the Goons" has Popeye saving the inhabitants of Goon Island from poachers out to harvest "goon skins".
* ''WesternAnimation/TotallySpies'': Clover was transformed into a humanoid animal, as well as many hostages, in a villain's plans to dominate the fashion industry by bringing fur scales and feathers back in prominence, purportedly because materials from humanoid bodies would make for a better fit.

* In Creator/MCAHogarth's ''[[Literature/{{Paradox}} Earthrise]]'' there's one scene where Irene, a Harat-Shariin,[[note]]one of those races of human-animal hybrids known collectively as "The Pelted"[[/note]] suggests that maybe surrendering to the pirates chasing them and being sold into slavery isn't such a bad thing. So Reese suggests that maybe they want to make her into a rug instead. That's enough to scare her into changing her mind. Later in ''Only the Open'' a liner is attacked by pirates who start killing human passengers and stunning Pelted ones, and telepath Jahir confirms that they're furriers before fighting them off.
* In ''Literature/TheHelmsmanSaga'', the [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Leaguers]] are hunting the Sodeskayan Bears (Soviet expies) for their pelts.
* [[PlayingWithATrope Played With]] in many ways in Creator/RobertSheckley's short story "Hunting Problem". Aliens from a distant world consider it a rite of passage to hunt down and skin a dangerous creature named "Mirash", whom they believe to be naturally cunning but not sentient. It turns out, however, that "Mirash" are actually the occasional human visitors of their planet, and [[spoiler:"skinning" them actually only involves taking the fancy space suits they usually arrive in]].
* Lampshaded in ''Literature/LittleFuzzy''.

* Sand Cats in ''Literature/MarkOfTheCat'' are hunted for fur despite being sentient, or perhaps because of it. They don't generally make good neighbors, after all.

[[folder:Film -- Animated]]
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Zootopia}}'' has a scene where [[CunningLikeAFox con-artist fox Nick Wilde]] mentions selling a rug made from a skunk's butt. Considering that this is a [[WorldOfFunnyAnimals world inhabited by talking animals]], it raises some questions.
[[/folder]]

* ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'': The Venber can be melted down into an extremely efficient coolant if they're at a temperature above freezing.

* ''VideoGame/BaldursGate2'': Every dragon that shows up in the game can be killed and its skin can be harvested. Taking said skins to the LegendaryBlacksmith allows you to turn them into armor. Unsurprisingly, these armors tend to be some of the best in the game.

* The eyes of the Kurta Clan from ''Anime/HunterXHunter'' are highly prized due to their unique scarlet coloring, a fact that has almost lead to the Clan's total genocide.
* In ''Manga/TokyoGhoul'', the bodies of Ghouls can be used to produce numerous valuable products. The Quinque, the primary weapons used by Ghoul Investigators to hunt ghouls, are made from the predatory organ of a slain ghoul. Rendered down bodies can also be used to produce Quinque Steel or an RC solution of unknown purpose. As such, ghouls are hunted not simply because they are considered [[FantasticRacism dangerous]] beings without any rights, but because their bodies are extremely useful. A prime example of this is in the backstory of the [[CainAndAbel Kirishima]] siblings -- their father was a peaceful scavenger that lived in harmony with his human neighbors. Though known to be harmless, he was targeted and hunted down because he was considered valuable "material". His kagune was used to produce the experimental Arata Armors for the CCG.

* In ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'', Hydro-Man once bought his girlfriend a fur coat that was supposedly made from Tigra's pelt (it was actually fake), implying that the Marvel universe might have a black market for goods made from furry heroes or villains.

* The ''Franchise/{{Predator}}'' franchise has the title aliens taking human skulls and weapons as trophies. They have rules, a code of conduct (no children, no one unarmed) and in one movie capture humans and place them on a "hunting preserve". A hunting preserve that's an entire planet.
* In the ''Franchise/StarWars'' [[Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse Expanded Universe]] Trandoshans such as Bossk hunt Wookiees and take their pelts as trophies for a religious ritual. Ironically there's one story where Bossk is taken prisoner and an Imperial governor wants to make him into a lizard-skin jacket for his wife.

* The Venber of ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' can be melted down into an extremely efficient coolant if they're at a temperature above freezing.

* In the ''Franchise/StarWars'' ExpandedUniverse Trandoshans such as Bossk hunt Wookiees and take their pelts as trophies for a religious ritual. Ironically there's one story where Bossk is taken prisoner and an Imperial governor wants to make him into a lizard-skin jacket for his wife.

* In Creator/MCAHogarth's ''[[Literature/{{Paradox}} Earthrise]]'' there's one scene where Irene, a Harat-Shariin[[note]]one of those races of human-animal hybrids known collectively as "The Pelted"[[/note]], suggests that maybe surrendering to the pirates chasing them and being sold into slavery isn't such a bad thing. So Reese suggests that maybe they want to make her into a rug instead. That's enough to scare her into changing her mind. Later in ''Only the Open'' a liner is attacked by pirates who start killing human passengers and stunning Pelted ones, and telepath Jahir confirms that they're furriers before fighting them off.

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[[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/centaur_rug.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:The perfect [[{{Pun}} centaurpiece]] for your living room.]]
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A SuperTrope to GenuineHumanHide. A SubTrope of FurAndLoathing.

Compare ImAHumanitarian (particularly if the raw material people are being killed for is food), CruellaToAnimals (being cruel whether or not the animals are sapient), DesecratingTheDead, OrganTheft, HumanResources, MonsterOrganTrafficking.

* ''ComicBook/XMen'': Sometimes in non-canon alternate universes where AnyoneCanDie and [[KillEmAll often do]] the only remains of the X-Man Beast is his pelt used like a rug or coat.