Ban on Dog and Cat Fur Trade

[areias]

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.

[CathyBogart]

My opinion will probably be unpopular. I don't feel that slaughtering dogs and cats for their fur is any worse than slaughtering mink or foxes for their fur. It seems to me that if dog and cat fur is banned more other animals will be killed inhumanely for their fur.

[Argranade]

That's horrible!

Why can't all those idiots just BAN the use of fur.

[CathyBogart]

Because in some parts of the world it gets cold enough that wearing fur is pretty much a necessity. If fur were banned, it would only make sense to ban leather too, then what would people on motorcycles wear?

Let's ban inhumane slaughter, and then enforce it!

[Giselle]

IMO, let's take it a step further and ban all products that require unnatural torture/death of an animal!


Sorry. That was just my veghead-side popping out If only!

[WolvesRawk]

If fur were banned, it would only make sense to ban leather too, then what would people on motorcycles wear?

And if leather is banned, why not ban the slaughter of the whole cow? Just ban slaughter all together. I would be very happy with that, but sadly the world won't ever do that. The best we can do is not give our hard earned money to the fur traders and other places that kill animals.

[junescrater716]

I'm actually not against cow slaughter and leather making because cows were made to eat. Why do you think we have fangs and molers? They're for ripping and tearing meat. Cows were bred to be eaten.

The reason why they use cow hide for leather is because after they slaughter the cow, what are they going to do with the skin just throw it away? No they use the WHOLE cow. Cattle will never go extinct because there is just too many herds of them. Unless ALL ranches will be destroyed. Can you tell I'm a carnivor. lol

Cows have been eaten for millions and billions of years nothing is going to change for a very long time now.

[junescrater716]

Answer me this. If we ban slaughter what would we eat? I AM NOT BECOMING A VEGETARIAN. I'll starve to death before I stop eating meat. Thats basically all I eat.

All of my friends who are vegetarians or rarely eat meat are ALWAYS tired and sick. I am always eating meat of some sort and I am never tired at school. I rarely get sick.

[junescrater716]

That's horrible!

Why can't all those idiots just BAN the use of fur.



If we slaughter the animal we should use ALL of it not just throw out the parts we think would be "inhumane" like fur.

[WolvesRawk]

I think that vegetarianism is healthier for most people. I know I've been alot healthier since I went vegetarian. Anyways, that's beside the point. However, I think its kind of hipocritical to be trying to end cat and dog slaughter while you happily eat your dead cow. That's just my opinion.

[CathyBogart]

I think that vegetarianism is healthier for most people. I know I've been alot healthier since I went vegetarian. Anyways, that's beside the point. However, I think its kind of hipocritical to be trying to end cat and dog slaughter while you happily eat your dead cow. That's just my opinion.

I heartily agree, and I do eat meat. (Admittedly I eat very little) I don't think the slaughter of any species is worse than the slaughter of any other.

[Pembroke_Corgi]

I'm actually not against cow slaughter and leather making because cows were made to eat. Why do you think we have fangs and molers? They're for ripping and tearing meat.

Actually you are incorrect. Early hominids, our ancestors, were most likely vegetarians, with some meat that came from scavenging. Our bodies are not designed to hunt- we could no more rip off an animals skin with out teeth than a tiger would want to be a vegetarian.

Yes, we designed tools to cut through animal hides, but for most of our history, we have most likely been scavengers, not hunters. We are most closely related to the great apes, who are largely vegetarian (chimpanzees are mostly vegetarian, and gorillas are completely vegetarian) suggesting that we most likely are not designed to eat a lot of meat.

[Pembroke_Corgi]

Cows have been eaten for millions and billions of years nothing is going to change for a very long time now.

Just wanted to point out that modern agriculture hasn't been around that long, it's only been around for the last 12,000 years or so. It's called the Neolithic revolution. Modern humans have not been around for more than 30-40,000 years at the earliest, so your arguments don't make any sense.

[Catty1]

Ummm....killing pet-type animals JUST for their fur.....

And killing cows that were, right or wrong, RAISED for that purpose...

Sorry, it's two entirely different things in my eyes.

And I live where it's going to be near 40 below tomorrow night - and I never have worn fur! There's tons of synthetics that work great. And I don't recall the last time I saw a fur coat in our frigid climates.

The Sorel winter boot - all synthetic, and NO cold will get through those babies!

[WolvesRawk]

Ummm....killing pet-type animals JUST for their fur.....

And killing cows that were, right or wrong, RAISED for that purpose...

Sorry, it's two entirely different things in my eyes.

So if you raise a dog for the purpose of fur that makes it fine? Cows can be pets! Ok, so maybe not the choice selection, but in other countries, they don't think of dogs and cats as pets. They think of them as food and fur, just as we do cattle and chickens.