Fw: HUMANElines --- Issue 226 --- December 18, 2002

[Guest guest]

Hi,

I receive information on many awful atrocities committed against animals,

but this one is keeping me up at night and I have written my own letter in

response. If so moved, please do what you can to contact friends and family

in Europe on this. My own letter is below; feel free to use it as a sample.

And if you are aware of progress in getting this ban in Europe, I would be

interested in hearing about it. Thanks much.

Marcia

 

> HUMANElines --- Issue 226 --- December 18, 2002

> HUMANElines --- Issue 226 --- December 18, 2002

> A Project of The Humane Society of the United States and The Fund for

Animals

>

> DOG AND CAT FUR PRODUCTS FLOODING EUROPE:

> The European Union (EU) has taken the lead on numerous animal welfare

issues, including bans on cruel battery cages, pig gestation crates, veal

crates, and the steel-jawed leghold trap (all still widely in use in the

U.S.). That’s what makes EU Commissioner David Byrne’s refusal to implement

an EU ban on dog and cat fur items especially surprising and troublesome.

Asian dog and cat fur and skin products have been flooding European markets

ever since the U.S. implemented a ban on their import and export two years

ago. In response, on November 27, ten out of fifteen EU Ministers of

Agriculture asked Commissioner Byrne to implement a similar ban. Their

formal request echoes the sentiments of countless EU citizens who have been

appalled by the deplorable conditions under which dogs and cats are raised

and killed for their furs in China-- kept in filthy, disease-ridden cages

before being strangled, stabbed, and sometimes skinned alive solely for

their fur. Aside from the extreme cruelty, dog and cat fur is also a trade

issue, and because of a lack of labeling or deliberately deceptive labeling

unwary consumers are routinely duped into unwittingly buying products made

with dog and cat fur. Yet Commissioner Byrne has countered by insisting that

such a ban be implemented separately by each country in the EU. However, the

EU has a clear obligation, under its internal market policy, to protect its

citizens from consumer fraud.

> WHAT YOU CAN DO:

> Please contact any friends, family and colleagues in Europe to urge

Commissioner Byrne to implement a ban on dog and cat fur products, focusing

on the consumer fraud issue. Although dog and cat fur products are, like all

fur products, the result of terrible suffering, the compelling argument for

the Commissioner is likely to be the concern about consumer fraud. European

citizens must tell him that they have no confidence in what they purchase as

long as cat and dog furs and skins are sold in Europe.

> Commissioner David Byrne

> Commission for Health and Consumer Protection

> Rue de la Loi 200

> B-1049 Brussels, Belgium

> fax (from Europe): 0032-2-298-1499

> email: david.byrne

>

 

 

January 2, 2003

 

 

Commissioner David Byrne

Commission for Health and Consumer Protection

Rue de la Loi 200

B-1049 Brussels, Belgium

 

Dear Mr. Byrne,

 

I read with horror that dog and cat fur and skins are sold rampantly on

European markets and that you have refused to implement an EU ban on these

items, stating that each EU member country should implement its own ban

independently.

 

This is an evasion of both your consumer protection, and moral

responsibilities. On consumer protection grounds, most Europeans recognize

dogs and cats as companion animals and want nothing to do with wearing the

bodies of these intelligent, loving beings that provide service,

companionship and love. Yet consumers have no way of knowing if they are

buying such an item. By not acting to bring about an EU ban, you are

complicit in the deceptive practices carried out by marketers of this ugly

trade, thereby abdicating your job to protect European consumers from fraud.

 

As I am sure you are aware, the unfortunate dogs and cats victimized by this

trade are raised in filthy conditions and sometimes skinned alive for their

fur, other times, stabbed or strangled.

 

As you must know, a European Union ban would be far quicker and more

comprehensive, thus more effective, as a means to halt this horrific and

barbaric practice, than waiting for individual members in the EU to act.

 

I do not know how you can sleep at night or look at a dog or cat in your

life knowing that you can quickly save thousands from this sick trade.

Although I am a U.S. citizen, I network with several international

organizations filled with people committed to the protection of voiceless

animals. I will be informing them of your role in this horror.

 

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way

its animals are treated†– Mahatma Gandi said this. Why not the greatness

of a continent? You can play a significant force in bringing about a greater

civilization. Turning your back on using your power to the good, is nothing

short of participation in an obscenity.

 

I hope you will change your position speedily. Thank you.

 

 

Marcia Slackman