Leather Sporran Colors

[Jock Scot]

Most certainly many shades of brown are the usual colour for a sporran, particularly if you want to go down the fur route and yes, there are many exceptions. These days, certainly in Scotland, animal hair is not as popular as it once was. Conservation issues and personal tastes have changed somewhat around the world and personally, as a hunting , shooting , fishing man, I really don't see the need for NEW fur sporrans these days. Each to their own.

[User]

... as a hunting , shooting , fishing man, I really don't see the need for NEW fur sporrans these days. ...

Out of curiosity, what does being a hunting/shooting/fishing man have to do with the need for new fur sporrans? Are you referring to the lack of need for formal sporrans during informal activities, or something else?

Perhaps I'm mistaken, but I think you're keen to keep Scottish traditions alive, and to prevent time from eroding and evolving them. If fur sporran production is halted and then resumed some years later, I imagine there would be consequences in those regards.

I confess, I haven't researched the need for conservation in fur production. But I imagine sporrans don't put a large strain on the system. They're quite small, and worn by only a few. Additionally, some furs as so inexpensive, it seems they may be bordering on being considered a waste product. I know that in Japan they have a deer problem, and culled deer are being discarded, wasting both meat and hide.

Viewing this from a wide perspective, it seems to me that using sustainable furs is the best course of action to keep tradition alive without inflicting damage on the world's ecosystem.

[Jock Scot]

Out of curiosity, what does being a hunting/shooting/fishing man have to do with the need for new fur sporrans? Are you referring to the lack of need for formal sporrans during informal activities, or something else?

Perhaps I'm mistaken, but I think you're keen to keep Scottish traditions alive, and to prevent time from eroding and evolving them. If fur sporran production is halted and then resumed some years later, I imagine there would be consequences in those regards.

I confess, I haven't researched the need for conservation in fur production. But I imagine sporrans don't put a large strain on the system. They're quite small, and worn by only a few. Additionally, some furs as so inexpensive, it seems they may be bordering on being considered a waste product. I know that in Japan they have a deer problem, and culled deer are being discarded, wasting both meat and hide.

Viewing this from a wide perspective, it seems to me that using sustainable furs is the best course of action to keep tradition alive without inflicting damage on the world's ecosystem.

Oh gosh where do I start? I just don't consider it necessary to have animal mask sporrans about these days. Some fifty years ago I inherited many such sporrans when my grand-father and father and his six brothers passed away in the course of time. So perhaps I inherited some dozen such sporrans in a very short time. It was at a time when otters, wild cats and pine martens were not holding their own after several centuries of persecution-------they are very easy to trap and quite easy to shoot given the time and increasing road traffic was not helping either. Added to this the bunny hugger brigade gained the ear of an ignorant public and even more ignorant politicians. In consequence seals and badgers were protected too. Rightly or wrongly that is the short history how these animals have been protected by law in Scotland.

I have shot all my life and ridden to hounds, until recently, when an unsteady stance and failing eyesight has caused me to pass my guns and rifles onto my grand-children. At a guess I would be shooting, pheasants, duck, grouse, partridge, pigeons and so on, about 120 days a season and perhaps about 30/40 deer when in season. Yes, I miss it and enjoyed every minute of it. HOWEVER, there was/is a time to recognise that some forms of wildlife in the UK , like the otter and wild cat were not coping with human pressure.

So one day, "out of the blue", I just decided that I really didn't need a dead animal mask around my waist and gave the sporrans away to the larger family. From then on, a plain black leather sporran, made by McRostie of Glasgow, has done all that I have required of it on all sorts of occasions over the past 45, or so, years

I dont regret for a second my decision, and personally animal mask and horse hair sporrans really do not impress me. What others choose to wear around their bodies is entirely their choice.