I'm not sure how one can say that those animals were killed unneccessarily. The goose was killed to provide down for warmth, the cow for its leather, and the elk for both food and sport. Sure we have synthetic materials, but they are usually substandard to the natural ones. Besides, I've read other people's posts, and they say to only use natural fabrics as the synthetic ones are non-biodegradable and contribute to the pollution of our planet. I hardly think that we should place the lives of a few geese and cows above the comfortable and healthy lives of billions of human beings and millions of other species which share our planet with us. Let's say that the man who owns that comforter had decided to buy a polyester one instead. In five years he may become tired of it, and throw it away. That synthetic comforter would take hundreds of years to decompose and perhaps in doing so, release toxic chemicals into our groundwater. Perhaps the landfills would become so overcrowded by then that land would have to be reclaimed in order to build new ones, driving hundreds of other animals from their natural environments. It's just like the anti-hunting argument. Hunting is beneficial to both man and beast. Hunted animals provide families with low-cost alternatives to store-bought meats and reduce the chances of a species overpopulation, which inevitably leads to animals starving to death, and the more recent problems of animals unnaturally interacting with the human population (ie the drastic increase in the bear population in New Jersey). In fact, it is often said that for every deer killed by a hunter, three more are then given the chance to live with enough food and other resources. No, it is quite clear that the products that animals provide to humans are neccessary and, in fact, beneficial to both human and animal.