http://www.canada.com/edmontonjourna...8259c66&k=1932
High-fashion Euro fur fanciers wearing pets snatched off streets
Undercover animal-rights investigator finds dog-fur factories are big business
LONDON -- It looks like the must-have item in every glamorous woman's winter wardrobe: a sleek, black fur coat dripping with opulence.
But despite the seductive appearance, these coats are not mink or sable. Instead, they have been manufactured from dog fur, possibly from an animal that was drugged and skinned alive to preserve the fur's freshness.
Similar coats are selling rapidly in fashion boutiques across Europe.
An undercover investigation has revealed a booming trade in dog fur coats from eastern Europe, some of which are likely to be on sale in Britain. The fur, which comes from both strays and captured pets, is often relabelled to disguise its origins before being stitched into coats and dyed. Bulgarian fur, for instance, was incorrectly passed off as "Korean wolf."
Unlike a mink, which can cost over $24,000 Cdn, a top-price coat made from dog pelt may sell in markets of western Europe for around $800.
The investigation by a German television documentary crew focused on Bulgaria, where it found that stray dogs were routinely rounded up by licensed trappers and delivered to fur factories.
Anita Singh, a campaign co-ordinator for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals in Britain, said there were also reports of pets being snatched for their fur.
"They tend to be bigger dogs, like German shepherds or golden retrievers," she said.
"It is important for people to realize that when they buy fur it is nearly impossible to tell whether real dog or cat has been used unless it undergoes extensive DNA testing.
"You can find dog fur in shopping centres in Britain labelled as something else. It is a disgusting industry and our advice is simply to avoid all types of fur."
It is not illegal to trade in dog and cat fur in Britain, although bans have been imposed in the United States, Sweden, Denmark, Greece, Italy, France and Australia.
The British Fur Trade Association, which represents the fur industry, said none of its members knowingly used dog fur and it had introduced a labelling system to guard against its use.
Most furs, such as mink, fox, seal or rabbit, have their own classification so it is possible to see how much is imported and exported. Fur which falls under the "other fur" category, however, does not have to be listed by species and could include dog or cat fur.
Dogs systematically killed
Historically, the British have been unwilling to buy dog fur. In the children's book 101 Dalmatians, written by Dodie Smith in 1948, the villainous Cruella de Vil tries to steal Dalmatian puppies to make herself a unique spotted coat.
Yordanka Zrcheva, the president of the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Animals, went undercover for a German television documentary to demonstrate the extent of the problem.
"I bought a black and white coat labelled Korean wolf," said Zrcheva.
"I asked if it was made with street dog fur and the vendor said it was, but that I should keep my voice down. I was pretending to be a dealer and asked if it would be possible to have more. She told me she had 750 in a storeroom in Sofia."
Zrcheva said that the country, which is hoping to join the European Union in just over a year, produces "tens of thousands" of dog pelts to sell across Europe. "There is a massive industry based on the systematic killing of dogs.
"There are dog fur factories all over Bulgaria, and they produce all sorts of items, like fur coats, leather shoes and bags made from dogs and so on," she said.
According to Rumi Becker, a spokesman for the Doctors for Animals group which works for the protection of Bulgaria's stray dogs, the authorities are unwilling to clamp down because the industry is "big business."
In Bulgaria the average salary is around $72 a month, while a teacher makes about $164 a month and a doctor $200. One fur coat can be sold inside the country for $400 and more than double that abroad.
"It is hard to collate exact numbers, but around 10,000 dogs are collected and killed in Sofia alone every year, often shipped straight to fur factories from dog pounds and animal shelters," said Becker.
"The so-called fur lords who run the factories are farming the dogs on the street without having to pay any support. They don't have to feed or house them or anything except round them up and then skin them."
Last week, anti-fur campaigner Heather Mills McCartney urged the European Union to ban the trade in cat and dog fur, citing the example of the Czech Republic.
"Domestic cats are stolen off the streets and we're talking about 2,000 to 3,000 just in the Czech Republic, not in the whole of Europe," she said.
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12/02
Sometimes i despise my home country
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