Guest guest Posted January 21, 2003 Report Share Posted January 21, 2003 The Sunday Times - Britain January 19, 2003 Dogs and cats feed boom in fur trade Nicholas Hellen Social Affairs Editor FUR TAKEN from dogs and cats is being imported by the British fashion trade as the vogue for fur-lined garments continues to boom, prompting ministers to launch a crackdown. The government told a private meeting of MPs last week that it has decided to tackle the problem after figures revealed a surge in imports from the Far East. Fur from dogs and cats is to be labelled, allowing opponents to take legal action to stamp out the trade. Labour's intervention follows the fashion industry's success in making fur socially acceptable again, with the support of models such as Kate Moss, Gisele Bundchen and Naomi Campbell. Investigators for the Humane Society, which was instrumental in winning a ban on the trade in America in 2000, have found stores of up to 100,000 dog and cat pelts at factories in Asia. Usually 10 to 12 adult dogs are killed to make a coat, but more are needed if puppies are used, in the style of Cruella DeVil. One cat fur coat uses 24 pelts. British and European law allows fashion houses and other firms including toy makers to use unlabelled dog and cat fur in their merchandise. Often the animals have been farmed in appalling conditions. Nick Palmer, Labour MP for Broxtowe, said the labelling initiative was the first step to a statutory ban on cat and dog fur throughout the European Union. " There are many people who might otherwise not object to the fur trade who become genuinely upset at the use of pet animals, " he said. But Struan Stevenson, a Conservative MEP for Scotland, said labelling would achieve nothing. " Nobody is going to buy cat and dog fur, so no trader will label their product as such, " he said. Importers would just sidestep the rules. Stevenson, a campaigner who has in his Brussels office the pelts of four golden retrievers bought in Copenhagen and a coat made from 42 alsatian puppies, bought in Berlin, said he had tried to persuade the European commission to ban the trade. " The commission says it cannot act because World Trade Organisation rules do not permit moral or ethical objections, " he said. Cat and dog fur from the Far East has been passed off as rabbit in the production of fur-trimmed parkas, gloves, hats and animal figurines, according to Betsy Dribben, European director of the Humane Society. Statistics from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) show that imports of cat and dog fur from China, monitored as " other fur imports " , rose by almost 50% between 1999 and 2001. At 38 tons, this accounts for almost half of all fur imports from China. According to Stevenson, Britain has become a dumping ground for cat and dog fur since America banned the trade. It was so cheap that some producers were dyeing it pink and blue to pass it off as fake fur, he said. The DTI said any false labelling would be subject to the Trade Descriptions Act. However pelts of farmed animals such as mink, goat and rabbit, as well as wild animals such as wolf, bobcat and lynx, will continue to be sold without labelling obligations. Baroness Symons, the international trade minister, has promised MPs that the DTI will institute a " robust " testing mechanism to identify fur from cats and dogs. She will seek to extend this throughout the EU. Efforts to stamp out the trade have so far been hampered because it can be difficult to spot the difference between fur from wolves and dogs, and that of cats from the cougar, sand cat and ocelot. Chemical processing makes it very difficult to use DNA testing. Most dog farms in China are in the cold provinces of Hebei, Heilongjiang and Henan, where dogs and cats grow thick and luxurious coats. Korea is also a big producer of dog fur, a by-product of the local meat trade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 23, 2003 Report Share Posted January 23, 2003 This is disgusting. I hate to think what we as a species are ultimately building up for ourselves if we continue like this. I had hoped that the 1980's had seen the end to fur. The photo-feature in the Hong Kong South China Morning Post earlier this week glamorizing fur did nothing to help. Definately worth a letter to the Editor. - " Dr John Wedderburn " <jwed " AAPN List " <aapn > Monday, January 20, 2003 8:52 PM Fw: (CN) ghastly stuff > The Sunday Times - Britain > > January 19, 2003 > > Dogs and cats feed boom in fur trade > Nicholas Hellen Social Affairs Editor > > FUR TAKEN from dogs and cats is being imported by > the British fashion trade as the vogue for fur-lined garments continues to > boom, prompting ministers to launch a crackdown. > > The government told a private meeting of MPs last > week that it has decided to tackle the problem after figures revealed a > surge in imports from the Far East. Fur from dogs and cats is to be > labelled, allowing opponents to take legal action to stamp out the trade. > > Labour's intervention follows the fashion industry's > success in making fur socially acceptable again, with the support of models > such as Kate Moss, Gisele Bundchen and Naomi Campbell. > > Investigators for the Humane Society, which was > instrumental in winning a ban on the trade in America in 2000, have found > stores of up to 100,000 dog and cat pelts at factories in Asia. Usually 10 > to 12 adult dogs are killed to make a coat, but more are needed if puppies > are used, in the style of Cruella DeVil. One cat fur coat uses 24 pelts. > > British and European law allows fashion houses and > other firms including toy makers to use unlabelled dog and cat fur in their > merchandise. Often the animals have been farmed in appalling conditions. > > Nick Palmer, Labour MP for Broxtowe, said the > labelling initiative was the first step to a statutory ban on cat and dog > fur throughout the European Union. " There are many people who might > otherwise not object to the fur trade who become genuinely upset at the use > of pet animals, " he said. > > But Struan Stevenson, a Conservative MEP for > Scotland, said labelling would achieve nothing. " Nobody is going to buy cat > and dog fur, so no trader will label their product as such, " he said. > Importers would just sidestep the rules. > > Stevenson, a campaigner who has in his Brussels > office the pelts of four golden retrievers bought in Copenhagen and a coat > made from 42 alsatian puppies, bought in Berlin, said he had tried to > persuade the European commission to ban the trade. > > " The commission says it cannot act because World > Trade Organisation rules do not permit moral or ethical objections, " he > said. > > Cat and dog fur from the Far East has been passed > off as rabbit in the production of fur-trimmed parkas, gloves, hats and > animal figurines, according to Betsy Dribben, European director of the > Humane Society. > > Statistics from the Department of Trade and Industry > (DTI) show that imports of cat and dog fur from China, monitored as " other > fur imports " , rose by almost 50% between 1999 and 2001. At 38 tons, this > accounts for almost half of all fur imports from China. > > According to Stevenson, Britain has become a dumping > ground for cat and dog fur since America banned the trade. It was so cheap > that some producers were dyeing it pink and blue to pass it off as fake fur, > he said. > > The DTI said any false labelling would be subject to > the Trade Descriptions Act. However pelts of farmed animals such as mink, > goat and rabbit, as well as wild animals such as wolf, bobcat and lynx, will > continue to be sold without labelling obligations. > > Baroness Symons, the international trade minister, > has promised MPs that the DTI will institute a " robust " testing mechanism to > identify fur from cats and dogs. She will seek to extend this throughout the > EU. > > Efforts to stamp out the trade have so far been > hampered because it can be difficult to spot the difference between fur from > wolves and dogs, and that of cats from the cougar, sand cat and ocelot. > Chemical processing makes it very difficult to use DNA testing. > > Most dog farms in China are in the cold provinces of > Hebei, Heilongjiang and Henan, where dogs and cats grow thick and luxurious > coats. Korea is also a big producer of dog fur, a by-product of the local > meat trade. > > > For more information on Asian animal issues, please use the search feature on the AAPN website: http://www.aapn.org/ or search the list archives at: aapn > Please feel free to send any relevant news or comments to the list at aapn > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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