Ban on Dog and Cat Fur Trade
What do you think? A step in the right direction?
Article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061120/ap_on_re_eu/eu_fur
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BRUSSELS, Belgium - The European Union proposed a ban Monday on the sale and import of dog and cat fur in all 25 member nations, saying it has been found in some clothing, toys and other items on sale in Europe.
The European Commission — the bloc's executive body — said the dog and cat fur had either been falsely labeled as coming from another animal or was hidden within the products.
According to animal rights activists, millions of animals are bred for their fur — mostly in China and other Asian nations. A ban on dog and cat fur has been in place in the United States since 2000, but activists complain that labeling is not required on items costing less than $150.
"Unfortunately, in the U.S. there's a loophole in the law. Products sold under a certain price range don't have to be labeled, so consumers can't actually be sure if the fur is from a rabbit or from a cat or a dog," said Zibby Wilder, of the Animal Protection Institute, based in Sacramento, Calif.
Unregulated products include winter accessories such as earmuffs, gloves and hats, as well as key chains and fur trim on clothing, she said.
Markos Kyprianou, the European Commission's consumer protection commissioner, said the fur trade's secretive nature makes it hard to estimate how much dog and cat fur finds its way onto the market, or pinpoint its source.
In the United States, "it comes over as trim ... whether its toys or lining of parkas or the lining of gloves or boots. So with the open-ended circumstances with labeling ... it could be coming in very widely for all we know," said Wayne Pacelle, the president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States.
In the EU, 15 member states already ban dog and cat fur sales. However, a December 2005 investigation by the Australian group Humane Society International showed dog and cat fur being used in products in the Czech Republic — a member of the EU since 2004.
The EU-wide ban proposed Monday will serve to bring clear guidelines for all member nations, Kyprianou said, adding that he expected it to pass quickly.
"Many citizens, members of the European Parliament, ministers and even myself have seen shocking images of cats and dogs being kept in cages and slaughtered in cruel and shocking conditions for their fur," Kyprianou told a news conference.
To back his call, the EU showed gruesome videos of dogs being bludgeoned or cut open to bleed to death, and cats in cages being strangled by wire nooses.
Humane Society International estimates some 2 million cats and dogs are killed for their fur each year, with an estimated 5,400 killed in China each day.
"Countries of origin typically are Asian," said Rick Swain, the group's vice president of investigative services. "Russia remains a large consumer. I have seen more cat and dog fur being used in Russia than in China."
Russian animal rights activists have campaigned against cruel practices in China's fur industry, including the export to Russia and other countries of cat and dog fur passed off as that of other animals. In February, activists of the Alliance for Animal Rights carried out a protest near the Chinese Embassy in Moscow.
Members of the EU parliament have already given wide, cross-party support for a ban.
"It was impossible to understand how anyone could treat these animals in such a barbaric way," said British Conservative legislator Struan Stevenson. "I have seen a great deal of evidence to show that Chinese butchers often skin these animals alive in their hurry to cash in on this lucrative trade."
However, the International Fur Trade Federation said an EU-wide ban was unnecessary because the group's members have had a voluntary ban on dog and cat fur in place since 2002.
"For many years the European fur trade has not traded in cat and dog fur," the group said in a statement. "We do question why it is necessary to spend time and resources drafting legislation to ban a trade that does not exist."
EU spokesman Philip Tod said there was "a wider problem" beyond the mainstream fur trade, adding there was clear evidence and overwhelming public demand for a ban.
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Associated Press Writer Tracee Herbaugh in New York contributed to this report.
