LEGAL OPINION CLEARS WAY FOR EU TO BAN DOG AND CAT FUR

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Subj: [banFur] Legal Opinion Clears Way for EU Dog/Cat Fur BanÂ

27/05/2004 20:33:37 GMT Daylight Time

politicalanimal13

 

LEGAL OPINION CLEARS WAY FOR EU TO BAN DOG AND CAT FUR

 

Washington (May 27, 2004) – Global efforts to end the

cruel and fraudulent trade in cat and dog fur received

a strong boost today with news that there is clear

jurisdiction for the European Union to take action on

the issue. Internationally recognized British

barrister Philippe Sands has issued a legal opinion

that there is a European Community (EC) treaty basis

under which the European Union (EU) can ban cat and

dog fur.Â

 

This development comes on the heels of a May 21

decision by the Australian government to ban the

production and sale of cat and dog fur and skins in

response to intense public pressure and a Humane

Society International (HSI) investigation into the

practice. Humane Society International, the

international arm of The Humane Society of the United

States (HSUS), is now calling on the European

Commission to follow Australia’s lead and issue an

immediate ban on the trade in cat and dog fur.

 

For the past three years, despite strong public

pressure and support from a majority of both the

European Parliament and the Council of Agriculture

Ministers to seek a ban, EU Consumer Affairs

Commissioner David Byrne has claimed he has no

authority to act on this matter. Sands reviewed EU

law at the request of HSI’s European office and has

determined that Article 95 of the EC Treaty gives the

Commission the justification to ban the production and

sale within the EU of cat and dog furs and skins on

the basis that “such a measure is necessary to remove

an obstacle in the functioning of the internal

market,� he noted. Sands, a barrister with Matrix

Chambers and director of the Centre of International

Courts and Tribunals at University College London,

also determined that under Article 133 (ex. 113) the

Commission also has the authority to ban their export.

 

 

“What these legal points underscore,� said HSI

Executive Director Neil Trent, “is that Commissioner

Byrne has been hiding behind a mound of excuses not to

take action. The European public has had enough of

these stalling tactics. He cannot seek refuge behind

unfounded statements any longer now that the EC treaty

provisions on taking action are staring him in the

face. With ten new countries in the EU and a growing

likelihood that the Australian ban will shift even

more of these exports to Europe, Byrne needs to act

quickly.�

 

In 1998, The HSUS undertook an 18 month investigation

into the cruel raising and inhumane slaughter of

millions of cat and dogs in Asia solely for their furs

and skins. Close to 2 million animal skins and furs

were being shipped to the U.S., EU and Russia in

clothing and other articles. Consumers had no way of

knowing this because Asian dealers utilized fraudulent

labeling, dyed items to resemble faux fur or did not

label them at all. The U.S. Congress banned the fur

in 2002. Most of the Asian trade appears to have

shifted to the European Union to make up for lost

revenues. Along with this fraud, some of the fur

items have tested positive for excessive levels of

chromium. Chromium can affect DNA in children. Now

that Australia has banned these items, it is likely

that more of these cruel, fraudulent and potentially

toxic items will be heading to the EU. During an

undercover investigation in Asia in 1998, HSUS

officials found warehouses in China piled high with

these skins and furs awaiting shipment abroad.

 

Scottish member of the European Parliament (MEP)

Struan Stevenson, who has been supporting the Humane

Society International campaign for the last four years

to highlight the cruel rearing and slaughter of cats

and dogs in Asia solely for their fur and skins, also

weighed in on Mr. Sands’ challenge to Byrne’s position

on the issue, stating: “Despite following due

Parliamentary process and securing the support of the

majority of the European Parliament, the Brussels

bureaucrats still flaunt the rules by refusing to

bring in to force legislation outlawing this barbaric

practice. Australia has followed America’s bold lead

in stamping out this unwanted and unnecessary trade.

I am urging the European Commission to do likewise and

bring an immediate halt to the unnecessary suffering

of the animals we refer to as pets.�

 

--

Dave Neale

UK Director

Animals Asia Foundation

 

Find out more about our historic China Bear Rescue and Friends or Food?

projects

by visiting the Animals Asia Foundation website at

http://www.animalsasia.org