Ban the import of dog and cat fur!

[Guest guest]

I was aked to pass this material on by a friend.

 

Struan Stevenson is an MEPand appeared on UK talk show, ¡®Richard and

Judy¡¯. His email address is Struanmep

The below is his reply to my friend's email.

 

 

 

Dear Mr Brear,

Thank you very much for your email and for your interest in a cat and dog f=

ur

trade ban.

I am a major campaigner against this immoral and horrific trade. I have bee=

n

working very closely with the Humane Society, an American NGO, which for

years has fought against the brutal killing of cats and dogs for the fur tr=

ade.

Last Wednesday I appeared on the Richard and Judy programme on Channel

Four because I am determined to make British people aware that the fur they=

 

buy in Europe may be cat or dog fur.

I have put pressure several times on Commissioner Byrne with the aim of

introducing a Europe-wide ban of cat and dog fur and I totally agree with y=

ou

that it is time for Commissioner Byrne to stop giving excuses to the EU¡¯s =

 

consumers and ban this barbaric trade. In response to an oral question I

submitted calling for a ban on such products entering the EU, the

Commissioner stated that he was prepared to raise the question in

forthcoming World Trade Organisation talks.

Commissioner Byrne stated that:

'The Commission shares the concern of the Honourable Member over the

trade in dog and cat fur, particularly concerning the possible implications=

for

animal welfare. It has noted that there have been reports of cruelty in the=

killing

of cats and dogs for skin production in certain Asian countries.

The Commission is also of the opinion that high animal welfare standards mu=

st

be ensured globally and has adopted a comprehensive set of legislation that=

 

covers a wide range of issues relating to animal welfare including leg-hold=

 

traps and animal testing for cosmetics.

Nothing in the WTO prevents the Community from taking measures which it

sees as essential for animal welfare within its borders, but under WTO rule=

s,

as currently interpreted, animal welfare provisions cannot be made a condit=

ion

for imports from third countries. However, animal welfare issues are an

increasingly relevant issue in terms of international trade and they will b=

e

raised again in the WTO context'

However, I am particularly worried that if we do not take immediate action,=

the

flood of these despicable goods will soon turn into a tidal wave. As indeed=

 

you probably know, the United States has had a federal ban on the import of=

 

cat and dog furs and skins for nearly two years, and therefore Asian

merchants are targeting the European Union as their prime market for these =

 

goods. Russia is the other market for these items.

The Humane Society has conducted a two year undercover investigation in

China, Thailand and the Philippines which found football field sized

warehouses filled to the ceilings with about 50,000 to 100,000 pelts of cat=

s and

dogs ready to be made into products.

Slaughter of these animals is horrific, with cats strangled outside their c=

ages

as other cats look on and dogs noosed with metal wires and then slashed

across the groin until they bleed to death as the noose wire cuts into thei=

r

throat. In Harbin (China), investigators documented a dog being skinned whi=

le

still blinking and conscious. The pelts have appeared in EU stores as full-=

 

length coats, homeopathic arthritis aids, toy cat figurines, hair bows for =

 

children, trim on sweaters and linings for boots and gloves.

The animals are raised under deplorable conditions and killed solely for th=

eir

skins and furs. Nearly 2 million dogs and cats die in this trade annually. =

 

Consumers are never aware of what they are purchasing because merchants

in Asia are happy to dye the fur to make it appear as a more acceptable

product, mislabelling others with bogus names or simply not labelling them =

at

all. DNA tests in laboratories have conclusively turned up cat and dog fur =

 

items throughout the European Union. In a purchase in the Netherlands for

instance, a bright red hair bow made to appear as faux fur DNA tested as do=

g

fur.

On November 27, 2002, at a Council of Agriculture Ministers meeting, eight =

 

ministers from the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Austria, the Netherlands and=

 

Denmark strongly supported the Swedish Agriculture Ministers request for an=

 

EU-wide ban on sales, as well as imports and exports of these fur and skins=

..

Yet Commissioner Byrne continues to argue it is not an EU-wide problem and =

 

states it is up to individual countries to address the issue.

This is absurd when one considers that over half of the EU countries are

calling for the ban and the public is overwhelmingly concerned that they ca=

nnot

be sure of what they are buying. This is massive consumer fraud based on a =

 

nauseating trade that no civilized EU citizen wants to support. Yet, the

Commission remains clueless, denying it cannot end this once and for all.

This is why I think that it would be very useful if we all put pressure on =

local

MPs as well on Commissioner Byrne. These are his contact details:

e-mail: david.byrne

Mail: Commissioner Byrne

European Commission

Rue de la Loi 200

B-1049 Brussels

Belgium

Rest assured that I will continue leading Conservative efforts to outlaw th=

e

importation into the EU of products made from cat and dog fur.

Kind regards,

Struan Stevenson

 

Attached is a specimen letter, please send it!

Many thanks

John and Jilly Brear