FW: Struan Stevenson, Conservative MEP for Scotland, on dog&cat fur:

[Guest guest]

hallo,

 

regarding the latest scandal concerning dog- and cat fur, I had asked

Struan Stevenson, Conservative MEP for Scotland, for his comments.

Below is his answer, dated 13 May 2003.

 

Please distribute the information. Thanks

 

best regards

Herma

-----------------

 

 

Dear Herma,

 

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

dog fur trade ban.

 

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

have been 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 trade.

 

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 cats and dogs ready to be made into products.

 

Slaughter of these animals is horrific, with cats strangled outside

their cages 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 their throat. In Harbin (China), investigators

documented a dog being skinned while 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 their 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 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 it is time

for Commissioner Byrne to stop giving excuses to the EU's consumers

and ban this barbaric trade.

 

Indeed, 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.

 

More recently, on 8 May 2003, I revealed the existence of video

evidence confirming a well-established trade in Belgium of cat fur.

One outlet is allegedly being supplied by a London broker buying

skins from China. This seem to show that despite assurances to the

contrary by EU Consumer Affairs Commissioner David Byrne, the trade

was flourishing within Europe.

 

Clearly, this despicable trade of cat and dog fur is not just a

business confined to the Far East. It is taking place within the

European Union and can be found right under the noses of EU

legislators in Belgium. Undercover investigations by Humane Society

International found cat fur on sale in Belgium in February 2003.

 

One merchant even stated that cats were farmed in Belgium. Another

claimed that stray cats and dogs were being rounded up in Brussels

and Ghent and killed for their pelts. Disturbingly he admitted that

some might even be lost pets. A third furrier claimed that dog and

cat skins were routinely purchased through an English speaking broker

in China.

 

Ministers from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, UK,

Greece, Denmark and Sweden have all called for a ban. Yet

Commissioner Byrne claims he has no authority to act - despite having

complete authority to ban this practice under internal market

regulations to protect consumers.

 

Europe's public, its legislators and ministers all want an end to the

import, export and sale of these items. Despite such strength of

opinion, this cruel trade in cat and dog fur is still not illegal in

Europe. Along with my colleagues in the European Parliament, I am

determined to keep bringing pressure to bear on the Commissioner to

instigate an immediate ban in the trade of cat and dog fur.

 

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:

 

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

fur.

 

Kind regards,

 

Struan Stevenson