ROSELAND ACTIVIST GOES GLOBAL IN BID TO STOP CHINESE FUR TRADE - Please Share

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Mary Alice

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Saturday, January 21, 2006 12:55 AM

ROSELAND ACTIVIST GOES GLOBAL IN BID TO STOP CHINESE FUR TRADE - Please

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ROSELAND ACTIVIST GOES GLOBAL IN BID TO STOP CHINESE FUR TRADE

 

 

Mary Alice Pollard

 

World Famous Musicians are in the vanguard of Cornish Woman's Campaign

Rachael Foster Reports

 

 

 

West Briton Newspaper

09:00 - 19 January 2006

 

A Cornish animal rights activist has set up a global campaign to try and

save millions of animals which die each year from the Chinese fur trade.

 

 

Mary Alice Pollard, who lives in Gerrans on the Roseland Peninsula,

already has support for her campaign from world-renowned musical artists,

including Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Jimmy Page and The Levellers.

 

Mrs Pollard campaigns under the banner Cornwall's Voice for the Animals,

and is building up a group - Musicians Against The Fur Trade.

 

The group exists to raise awareness and also to form an " musical petition "

which will be presented to the Chinese Government.

 

" This is so that singers, songwriters and musicians can work towards a

common goal, " said Mrs Pollard.

 

" In May we will send this to the Chinese Government with signatures from

all over the world.

 

" This a chance for people to group together in a common art and a common

cause. I think there's strength in numbers. "

 

It is estimated that up to three million dogs and cats die each year for

the Chinese fur trade.

 

Often, the animals are skinned alive, and remain conscious for 10 or 15

minutes after the pelt is removed.

 

Even before this horrific act, the animals are kept in cramped conditions

and are beaten and clubbed to knock them out before skinning.

 

Some animals still wear a collar, a sign they were once a much loved

family pet which was stolen for the fur trade.

 

The pelts could be turned into anything from clothing to toys, some of

which aren't properly labelled as real fur.

 

Although Mrs Pollard is extremely keen to see the trade outlawed, she

realises the importance of finding alternative means of income for people

working in the industry.

 

" It's very easy to hate these people that do this to these beautiful

animals, but we have to find them alternative work, " she said.

 

" If we ban this, what happens if it goes underground? We have to give

these people alternative, cruelty free work.

 

" We have to make sure the EU bans imports of fur, so we stop the trade in

the western world. "

 

One musician who has joined the campaign is Maria Daines, from

Cambridgeshire. She has written a song - I Am The Owner Of This Coat - for the

cause.

 

She said: " This song was inspired by the work of Mary-Alice Pollard,

Cornwall's Voice For Animals.

 

" Contrary to our knowledge of this subject, the fur trade is very much

thriving in some parts of the world.

 

" A lucrative business is labelling real animal fur as 'fake' fur, and

selling it as trinkets, fur trims and clothing, even as pet toys.

 

" The animals are not killed humanely, they are not transported humanely,

they are thrown around like rubbish before their deaths, in crates that hold up

to 30 dogs or cats in the smallest of spaces.

 

" How can we stand aside and let this continue? Please help by adding your

name to the petition. "

 

To support the campaign, log onto

http://groups.myspace.com/SingersSongwritersMusiciansSayNoToFur .

 

 

End

 

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Dog And Cats - The Horrific Chinese Fur Trade

http://justnicephotos.homestead.com/DogAndCatCruelFurTrade.html

 

Non MySpace Artists - SAY NO TO FUR - Add Your Name Here

http://pub38.bravenet.com/guestbook/3246333457

 

----------------------

Mary Alice Pollard

Cornwall's Voice for Animals.UK: http://justnicephotos.homestead.com/CVFA.html

Representing: The International Organization for Animal Protection

NGO affiliated to the UN Department of Public Information

 

Join Us On ' My Space '

http://www.myspace.com/chrispollard