Fur Production Research Articles

Diseases of domestic rabbits by purpose; a retrospective study of 2,583 cases received at 4 diagnostic laboratories in California, USA, 2013-2022.

Domestic rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) are commonly kept as pets or bred for laboratory investigation, meat, fur production, or a combination of these purposes. We conducted a retrospective study to assess the prevalence of diseases in domestic rabbits according to purpose. We retrieved results of autopsies, biopsies, and cytologies from 2,583 cases received at 4 diagnostic laboratories in California from 2013-2022. Rabbits were classified as pets (2,241; 86.8%), laboratory animals (92; 3.6%), meat-production animals (60; 2.3%), or multipurpose animals (190; 7.4%). A final diagnosis was reached in 2,360 (91.4%) cases and was classified by system, etiology, and type of process. Pet rabbits had the highest median age (5.9 y; vs. 3 y, 0.67 y, and 0.25 y in meat, multipurpose, and laboratory rabbits, respectively), and most of the neoplasms were diagnosed in this group (872 of the total 896 neoplasms in the study; 97.3%), with tumors of the skin, female reproductive tract, and hematolymphoid system being the most common. Laboratory rabbits had a high prevalence of infectious enterotyphlocolitis (40 of 92; 43.4%), and ~45% of those cases were due to opportunistic colibacillosis. Infectious and parasitic pneumonias were common in meat rabbits (18 of 60; 30%); pneumonic pasteurellosis accounted for >60% of those cases. Infectious cholangiohepatitides were common in multipurpose rabbits (61 of 110; 55.5%), with rabbit hemorrhagic disease representing the most common etiology (82.4% of those cases). Our results demonstrate that purpose of use can predict prevalence of disease in rabbits submitted to diagnostic laboratories.

Placing animals in the Plantationocene: The plantation after/lives of nutria in Eastern Germany

Nutria ( Myocastor coypus), also known as coypu or ‘river rats’, are big semi-aquatic rodents that originate from South America and were shipped to Europe for fur production in the late 1800s. Today, the animals live in wild populations in many places around the globe. One of these places is the Eastern German city of Halle is where they have been able to establish themselves in large populations along the river Saale. This article situates the history and presence of nutria in Eastern Germany in the Plantationocene. The Plantationocene concept regards the plantation as a structuring feature of our present. In the plantation, humans and nonhumans are separated, hierarchically ordered and exploited along different power axes, so that standardised, scalable production becomes possible. In this sense, we argue that the nutria farms of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) followed plantation logics that resembled that of ‘actual’ plantations and that exploited their forced animal labour for fur production. With German reunification, however, nutria lost their economic value and, in many cases, were simply released to save on ‘disposal costs’. Outside the nutria farms, they developed plantation afterlives, where similar logics continued to exert violence on their bodies, such as in their recent classification as ‘invasive alien species’, but were also challenged in a number of ways. Taking cue from recent discussions on the Plantationocene, this article can be considered as an intervention and invitation to move beyond the plantation in the literal sense of the term, so as to study how the Plantationocene works across different species, spaces and times, while being attentive to its limitations.

The first archaeological and taphonomic evidence for rabbit Fur production in medieval Barcelona (Spain)

In the Middle Ages, Barcelona was an important centre for leather and fur production. A large number of tanneries involved in the transformation of animal hides and skins located on the outskirts of the city have been documented. Despite this, the importance of these activities has hardly been considered from the perspective of the archaeofaunal remains. This scarcity of data is even greater when it comes to the preparation of the fur of small animals such as rabbits. In this paper we present the zooarchaeological and taphonomic study of a sample of rabbit remains recovered from El Born archaeological site. Specifically, the sample comes from a 13th-century context excavated in an area called the Casa Riera. In the period under study, this area was just outside the limit of the urbanised zone, and it was connected with important watercourses. The context studied was very rich in faunal remains, mostly rabbits and caprines. The analysis of the rabbit bones indicates that these animals were clearly used for fur production. Our results have enabled us to characterise this type of assemblage taphonomically. Besides, on the basis of the results, some of the steps in animal carcass processing and of tanning practices can be illustrated. Finally, our data are contrasted with the background provided by documentary evidence.

Evaluation of SARS-CoV-2 passive surveillance in Lithuanian mink farms, 2020-2021.

The newly emerged SARS-CoV-2, causing COVID-19 in humans, is also infecting American mink (Neovison vison), used in fur production. Since 2020, passive surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in mink farms was implemented in Lithuania. Here, we describe data from a survey of all 57 active Lithuanian mink farms carried out during November-December 2021 to complement passive surveillance in the country. In all 57 mink farms, nasopharyngeal swab samples were collected from dead or live mink and tested by real-time RT-PCR. Dead mink samples were tested in pools of 5, while live mink samples were tested individually. In 19 mink farms, blood serum was collected and tested for antibodies to determine previous exposure to the virus. Environmental samples from 55 farms were also collected and tested in pooled samples by real-time RT-PCR. The present survey has detected 22.81% viral RNA-positive mink farms and a high number of mink farms that were exposed (84.21, 95% CI 67.81-100%) to the virus. The increasing exposure of mink farms to the virus due to growing human COVID-19 cases and limitations of passive surveillance could explain the observed epidemiological situation of SARS-CoV-2 in Lithuanian mink farms, compared to the few positive farms previously detected by passive surveillance. The unexpected widespread exposure of mink farms to SARS-CoV-2 suggests that passive surveillance is ineffective for early detection of SARS-CoV-2 in mink. Further studies are needed to reveal the present status in previously infected mink farms.

Informative Relevance of 11 Microsatellite Loci for Forensic DNA-Identification of Wild and Farm American Minc (<i>Mustela vison</i>) in Belarus

American mink is involved in economic activity of the Republic of Belarus since it belongs to resource hunting species as well as breeds for fur production. We propose identification test system consisting of 11 microsatellite DNA loci designed for forensic investigation of cases of illegal hunting and animals stealing for precious furs. Informative relevance of the test system studied using two samples of farm minks and a sample from a wild population of M. vision geographically isolated from fur farms. The significant genetic differences between wild and farmed minks (Fst = 0.04397, P 0.05) showed with random match probabilities of 11-locus genotypes calculated with and without taking into account the Fst value differing by two orders (1.84 × 10–8 and 1.39 × 10–10 respectively). As concerned to forensic DNA analysis, the reference databases should be formed for wild and farm animals separately.

Використання відпрацьованих глинистих сорбційних матеріалів у технологіях виробництва шкіри та хутра

The work is devoted to solving the current problem of increasing the level of environmental safety of treatment industrial wastewater of leather production from chromium ions (III) through the use of natural and modified bentonite. The most promising way of wastewater purification is the sorption technology, which is widely used in many countries to prevent pollution of the environment by wastewater from industrial enterprises. Studies of the use of natural and modified bentonite in the adsorption of Cr3 + ions have been carried out. The purpose of the research was to study the use of clay sorbents previously applied for the purification of wastewater from heavy metal ions in technological processes of leather and fur production. The possibility and modes of application of spent bentonite dispersions for the processing of leather semi-finished products to increase resource conservation and environmental friendliness of leather production were also established. The influence of the process duration on the sorption efficiency of chromium ions has been studied. Studies have been conducted to use spent bentonite in tanning and filling processes. The efficiency of modification of montmorillonite has been proved and the expediency of using mineral dispersion for qualitative formation of the structure and properties of the leather during tanning has been established.The efficiency of adsorption of anionic dyes on spent montmorillonite is investigated. Was identified a high level of adsorption of anionic dyes at pH 5-6.5. The role of the dye structure, the level of the critical concentration of micelle formation on the dye adsorption on the surface of montmorillonite is provided. Utilization of spent bentonite by using it as part of multifunctional materials for the processing of leather semi-finished products contributes to a considerable increase in resource conservation and environmental friendliness of leather production.

Chemical nature of dye interaction when dying fur sheepskin

The article substantiates the use of active dyes with vinylsulfone and chlorotriazine groups in leather and fur production in order to obtain fur sheepskin with an improved set of consumer properties. The kinetic regularities of the processes of diffusion, fixation and hydrolysis of active dyes have been studied. This makes it possible to increase the efficiency of the process of dyeing fur sheepskin and the completeness of the use of active dyes. In monofunctional active bright blue 53Sh, only 56.7 % of 72.2 % of the total amount of sorbed dye is fixed by covalent bonds, in mono-bifunctional active brown - 65.9 % of 73.7 %, in hetero-bifunctional active bright red 5CX - 71.6 % of 77.1 %. The anomalous nature of the chemical reactions of active dyes with water and with woolen fiber has been established. The practical significance lies in the development of theoretical foundations for predicting changes in the degree of fixation and the efficiency indicator of the process of dyeing fur sheepskin under the influence of temperature, pH and other factors.

Identification of mutant gene for Black crystal coat and non-allelic gene interactions in Neogale vison

Sable (Martes zibellina) and American mink (Neogale vison) are valuable species characterized by a variety of coat colour produced on fur farms. Black crystal fur phenotype is Mendelian codominant trait: heterozygous animals (Cr/ +) have white guard hairs scattered predominantly on the spine and the head, while homozygous (Cr/Cr) minks have coats resembling the Himalayan (ch/ch) or white Hedlund (h/h) types. It is one of the most recent of more than 35 currently known phenotypic traits of fur colour in American mink. Black crystal fur phenotype was first described in 1984 in the Russian population of mink, which had undergone selection for domestic defensive response to humans. Here, we performed whole-genome sequencing of American mink with Cr/Cr phenotype. We identified a missense mutation in the gene encoding the α-COP subunit of the COPI complex (COPA). The COPI complex mediates retrograde trafficking from the Golgi system to the endoplasmic reticulum and sorting of transmembrane proteins. We observed an interaction between a newly identified mutation in the COPA gene and a mutation in the microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF), the latter mutation led to the formation of the white Hedlund (h/h) phenotype. Double heterozygotes for these mutations have an entirely white coat and a black-eyed phenotype similar to the phenotype of Cr/Cr or h/h minks. Our data could be useful for tracking economically valuable fur traits in mink breeding programs to contribute to global fur production.

Generation of Heritable Prominent Double Muscle Buttock Rabbits via Novel Site Editing of Myostatin Gene Using CRISPR/Cas9 System

Rabbits have been domesticated for meat, wool, and fur production, and have also been cherished as a companion, artistic inspiration, and an experimental model to study many human diseases. In the present study, the muscle mass negative regulator gene myostatin (MSTN) was knocked out in rabbits at two novel sites in exon3, and the function of these mutations was determined in subsequent generations. The prominent double muscle phenotype with hyperplasia or hypertrophy of muscle fiber was observed in the MSTN-KO rabbits, and a similar phenotype was confirmed in the F1 generation. Moreover, the average weight of 80-day-old MSTN-KO rabbits (2,452 ± 63 g) was higher than that of wild-type rabbits (2,393.2 ± 106.88 g), and also the bodyweight of MSTN-KO rabbits (3,708 ± 43.06g) was significantly higher (P < 0.001) at the age of 180 days than wild-type (WT) rabbits (3,224 ± 48.64g). In MSTN-KO rabbits, fourteen rabbit pups from the F1 generation and thirteen from the F2 generation stably inherited the induced MSTN gene mutations. Totally, 194 pups were produced in the F1 generation of which 49 were MSTN-KO rabbits, while 47 pups were produced in the F2 generation of which 20 were edited rabbits, and the ratio of edited to wild-type rabbits in the F2 generation was approximately 1:1. Thus, we successfully generated a heritable double muscle buttocks rabbits via myostatin mutation with CRISPR/Cas9 system, which could be valuable in rabbit's meat production and also a useful animal model to study the development of muscles among livestock species and improve their important economic traits as well as the human muscle development-related diseases.

Animal Fur Recognition Algorithm Based on Feature Fusion Network

China is a big country in animal fur industry. The total production and consumption of fur are increasing year by year. However, the recognition of fur in the fur production process still mainly relies on the visual identification of skilled workers, and the stability and consistency of products cannot be guaranteed. In response to this problem, this paper proposes a feature fusion-based animal fur recognition network on the basis of typical convolutional neural network structure, relying on rapidly developing deep learning techniques. This network superimposes texture feature - the most prominent feature of fur image - into the channel dimension of input image. The output feature map of the first layer convolution is inverted to obtain the inverted feature map and concat it into the original output feature map, then Leaky ReLU is used for activation, which makes full use of the texture information of fur image and the inverted feature information. Experimental results show that the algorithm improves the recognition accuracy by 9.08% on Fur_Recognition dataset and 6.41% on CIFAR-10 dataset. The algorithm in this paper can change the current situation that fur recognition relies on manual visual method to classify, and can lay foundation for improving the efficiency of fur production technology.

Climate change induced habitat expansion of nutria (Myocastor coypus) in South Korea

The nutria, (Myocastor coypus), is a semiaquatic rodent native to the subtropical and temperate regions of South America. The species was introduced to South Korea for meat and fur production purposes and a wild population has become established. The species subsequently invaded aquatic ecosystems and destroyed aquatic vegetation and cultivated crops. Thus, it is essential to understand their current distribution and future range expansion for effective control and eradication strategies to reduce the risk of colonization into new regions. In this study, we used niche modeling procedure to identify potentially suitable habitats for M. coypus under current and future predicted climate change using the maximum entropy algorithm. We found that the main habitat area of M. coypus is expected to expand under a warming climate from ~ 4069 km2 in the southern and southeastern regions of South Korea, to the northern border of the country, with estimated ranges of 21,744 km2, 55,859 km2, and 64,937 km2 by 2030, 2050, and 2070, respectively. The findings of the present study assist in identifying the future distribution and potential dispersion routes of M. coypus in South Korea, which is important for informing the government regarding essential management actions plans at regional and local scales.

Beliefs and Attitudes of British Residents about the Welfare of Fur-Farmed Species and the Import and Sale of Fur Products in the UK.

Simple SummaryFur farming has become increasingly controversial in the western world. Fur-farmed species such as mink contracting and transmitting COVID-19 have put a further spotlight on the industry. The United Kingdom (UK) and other nations have banned fur farming due to welfare concerns. Despite this, due to European Union (EU) membership, the UK has continued to import and sell fur from two million animals each year. The UK left the EU in 2020 and the British government is now considering a ban on the import and sale of fur. This paper reviews public polls on British attitudes to the fur industry conducted between 1997 and 2021. The polls reveal consistently high majority opposition to the fur industry. The paper then reports the results of a new questionnaire to explore in further depth the views of UK residents on the fur industry and attitudes to a ban. A large majority (86%) believed fur-farmed animals do not experience a good life. A similar majority (83%) believed it was unacceptable for the UK government to ban fur farming and continue to import and sell fur from producers overseas. Over three quarters (78%) supported a legal ban on the import and sale of fur in the UK.Around 100 million animals are killed annually for the global fur trade, with 85% reared on fur farms and 15% trapped in the wild. Fur farming is banned across the United Kingdom (UK) under the Fur Farming (Prohibition) Act 2000 in England and Wales and parallel legislation in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Despite the farming bans, the import and sale of fur products to the UK have continued, largely due to European Union (EU) membership. The UK left the EU in 2020 and the British government is exploring a potential ban on the import and sale of fur post-Brexit. This paper reviews public surveys on attitudes to fur farming in the UK from 1997 to 2021. It then reports the results of an online questionnaire to investigate in greater depth the beliefs of UK residents (n = 326) about the welfare of animals used in fur production, knowledge of the legal context of the fur trade and attitudes toward a ban on the import and sale of fur in the UK. A large majority (86%) of respondents believed that fur-farmed animals do not experience a good life. Over four-fifths (83%) disagreed that it is morally acceptable for the UK government to ban fur farming and yet continue to import and sell fur from producers overseas, with over three-quarters (78%) supporting a legal ban on the import and sale of fur in the UK.

Rabbit Maternal Behavior: A Perspective from Behavioral Neuroendocrinology, Animal Production, and Psychobiology.

Rabbit maternal behavior (MB) impacts meat and fur production on the farm, survival of the species in the wild, and pet welfare. Specific characteristics of rabbit MB (i.e., three-step nest building process; single, brief, daily nursing bout) have been used as models for exploring particular themes in neuroscience, like obsessive-compulsive actions, circadian rhythms, and cognition. Particular hormonal combinations regulate nest building by acting on brain regions controlling MB in other mammals. Nonhormonal factors like type of lodging and the doe's social rank influence nursing and milk production. The concurrency of pregnancy and lactation, the display of nonselective nursing, and the rapid growth of altricial young - despite a minimal effort of maternal care - have prompted the study of mother-young affiliation, neurodevelopment, and weaning. Neurohormonal mechanisms, common to other mammals, plus additional strategies (perhaps unique to rabbits) allow the efficient, adaptive display of MB in multiple settings.

Application of Electrochemically Activated Solutions in Technological Processes of Leather and Fur Production

Application of Electrochemically Activated Solutions in Technological Processes of Leather and Fur Production

FACTORS THAT SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF FUR FARMS: THE CASE STUDY OF GREECE

This study aims to discuss the key factors that can contribute to the development of the fur industry in Greece. The industry consists of two sub-sectors i.e. production and processing of fur skins (raw material), and the production of fur garments. The profitability of fur-bearing farms, considered from the perspective of investment and further international fur trade, and both these were examined in this study because these two sub-sectors are closely linked. The results obtained from the analysis of the two fur production sub-sectors showed that the investment of capital in the industry can expect positive returns while at the same time creating well-paid jobs. Although not presenting a comparative advantage, but the foreign trade of fur garments produced in the region can gain competitiveness if some of the strategies used by Greek fur companies are adjusted. Results of the current study can be concluded that despite the weaknesses that emerge from the results of this study, both sub-sectors of the fur industry can make a significant contribution to the development of the local community of Western Macedonia.

PROSPECTS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF FEED PRODUCTION FOR FUR ANIMALS

The article considers the species of fur animals bred in Ukraine. The volumes of fur production and the number of animal farms in the world and Ukraine are analyzed, of which Denmark, China and Poland are in the top three. The share in the total volume of fur production in Ukraine is only 1%. Domestic enterprises for breeding fur animals, which keep about 700 thousand minks in industrial conditions, are considered.The structure of the gastrointestinal tract of carnivorous and herbivorous fur animals, their consumption of nutrients and biologically active substances in feed were analyzed. Features of feeding fur animals are determined by the seasonality of vital functions, which determines changes in metabolism and nutritional value of feed. The importance of access to fresh drinking water in the diets of carnivorous fur animals is considered.The necessity of production of compound feeds for fur animals, which meet the norms of feeding and restrictions on the introduction of components, is substantiated.The need of fur-bearing animals in nutrients and biologically active substances for the production of high-quality nutritious compound feeds, for obtaining high-quality shine and density of fur, better digestibility by the body is shown. The ratios of digestible nutrients in the diets of minks of domestic and Scandinavian breeds are given, the percentage of metabolic energy in different feeding periods is given. The low percentage of compound feed production for fur farming is substantiated.Types of compound feeds and their advantages are presented. Technological methods of production of compound feeds for fur animals such as extrusion, expansion and granulation with the introduction of fat into the press granulator are analyzed. Finished feed should be solid and have a granule size of 4.5… 5 mm for grinding cutters, with high nutritional properties and biological value, and improved sanitation. Thanks to modern technologies, harmful microflora is disinfected and shelf life is increased.The state of domestic feed mills for the production of quality feed for fur animals is analyzed. Thanks to the emergence of new recipes and compliance with feeding standards, the technology of compound feed production for fur farming is being improved.

Effect of therapeutic and prophylactic complex DLK (Dironet, Lactobifadol, Forage Keratin) on the intestinal microbiocenosis of the Blue Frost fox at toxascariosis

The purpose of the research is determining the effect of the therapeutic and prophylactic complex of Dironet, Lactobifadol and fodder Keratin (DLK) on the qualitative and quantitative composition of the intestinal microflora affected by toxascariosis in the Blue Frost fox.Materials and methods. The research was carried out on the Fur Breeding Farm “Vyatka”, Slobodskoy District, the Kirov Region. The study objects were 24 female Blue Frost foxes culled from the breeding herd. To determine the quality of the skins obtained from the experimental animals, we sorted flint-dried skins.Results and discussion. After the introduction of the therapeutic and preventive complex DLK into the diet of sick animals, the positive dynamics was observed in the quantitative and qualitative composition of intestinal microorganisms. In animals of the experimental groups that were administered DLK, the number of bifidus bacteria, lactic bacteria and fecal enterococci increased; there was a significant decrease or complete absence of pathogenic and conditionally pathogenic microorganisms, fusobacteria, streptococci, clostridia, typical lactose-negative and hemolytic Escherichia, aureus and saprophytic staphylococcus, common Proteus and fungi of the Candida genus. In animals infected by Toxascaris leonina that did not receive the complex therapy, a decrease in lactic acid bacteria and an increase in the content of pathogenic and commensal microorganisms were noted. Under the output of the fur production, the infected animals showed the lowest percentage of skins in terms of quality of 7.16%, which was 0.38% less in comparison with healthy foxes, and 0.51% less in comparison with treated Blue Frost foxes.

COVID-19 Syndrome: Nexus with Herbivory and Exposure Dynamics for Monitoring Livestock Welfare and Agro-Environment

The outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a public health emergency that turns the year 2020–2021 into annus horribilis for millions of people across international boundaries. The interspecies transmission of this zoonotic virus and mutated variants are aided by exposure dynamics of infected aerosols, fomites and intermediate reservoirs. The spike in the first, second and third waves of coronavirus confirms that herd immunity is not yet reached and everyone including livestock is still vulnerable to the infection. Of serious concern are the communitarian nature of agrarians in the livestock sector, aerogenous spread of the virus and attendant cytocidal effect in permissive cells following activation of pathogen recognition receptors, replication cycles, virulent mutations, seasonal spike in infection rates, flurry of reinfections and excess mortalities that can affect animal welfare and food security. As the capacity to either resist or be susceptible to infection is influenced by numerous factors, identifying coronavirus-associated variants and correlating exposure dynamics with viral aerosols, spirometry indices, comorbidities, susceptible blood types, cellular miRNA binding sites and multisystem inflammatory syndrome remains a challenge where the lethal zoonotic infections are prevalent in the livestock industry, being the hub of dairy, fur, meat and egg production. This review provides insights into the complexity of the disease burden and recommends precision smart-farming models for upscaling biosecurity measures and adoption of digitalised technologies (robotic drones) powered by multiparametric sensors and radio modem systems for real-time tracking of infectious strains in the agro-environment and managing the transition into the new-normal realities in the livestock industry.

The persistent conditions of plantation economy and the fraught spaces of encounter in St Bernard Parish, Louisiana

This article examines how social and economic structures of historic plantation development manage to persist over time and to rearticulate over space. In the early 1900s, the historic plantation sugar economy in St Bernard Parish, Louisiana, suddenly collapsed. Despite efforts by local elites to seize this moment to finally launch a diversified industrial development path, the parish nevertheless sank again into a new cycle of plantation domination and dependency. The dominating sugar sector was broken up only to be rapidly replaced by a vast new monopoly—in, of all things, systematized fur production—whose land tenure and labor regime nearly replicated that of the earlier plantation estates. I examine this folding-over-anew of the plantation, from sugar to fur, in two ways that contribute to recent growing literature on persistent plantation geographies. First, I draw upon theories of Caribbean underdevelopment to identify three persistent conditions of plantation economy. Upon the collapse of sugar in St Bernard, the conditions of estate-based land monopoly, racialized extra-economic labor coercion, and external market/primary commodity dependency constrained the possibility of structural transformation and rearticulated in a new commodity regime based in fur. Second, I turn to consider the experience of workers bound up in the new fur economy who were not, in the main, the debt-bound black workers from the old sugar plantations but a racially and spatially marginal group known as isleños. I draw on a unique set wry folk ballads that isleños maintained as part of local oral tradition to examine the voices of trappers themselves as they negotiated the rearticulating structures of the neo-plantation regime. Thinking with McKittrick's concept of plantation “spaces of encounter,” I find these neo-estate workers forged fraught spaces of discursive and material autonomy that at times resisted, and at times reproduced, the ongoing plantation regime.

Ecological Aspects of Clay Sorption Materials Usage in Leather and Fur Production Technologies

The work is devoted to solving the current problem of increasing the level of environmental safety of treatment industrial wastewater of leather production from chromium ions (III) through the use of natural and modified bentonite. The studies of natural and modified bentonite use in the adsorption of Cr3 + ions were conducted. The influence of the process duration on the sorption efficiency of chromium ions was studied. Studies were conducted to use spent bentonite in tanning and filling processes. The efficiency of modification of montmorillonite has been proved and the expediency of using mineral dispersion for qualitative formation of the structure and properties of the leather during tanning has been established.