China pledges to stop cat and dog fur trade

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http://www.eveningecho.ie/news/bstory.asp?j=3903705 & p=39x37zx & n=3903797

 

China pledges to stop cat and dog fur trade

 

24/05/2006 - 16:23:32

 

The animal cruelty video that makes Heather Mills McCartney cry has

finally triggered a Chinese government pledge to stamp out the trade

in cat and dog fur, it emerged today.

 

Miss Mills McCartney recently admitted that the horrific footage of

cats and dogs being rounded up and skinned alive - to save the cost

of humane killing - brings tears every time she sees it.

 

And she has watched it countless times while championing an end to

the barbaric slaughter of millions of animals a year in China to

service the European market in canine and feline fur.

 

Now Scottish Conservative Euro MP Struan Stevenson, who has worked

closely with Miss Mills McCartney on the campaign, has been assured

by senior Chinese government officials that they are just as

horrified and will act to end the practice.

 

Mr Stevenson, in Beijing to push for action, showed the footage to

State Forestry Administration Deputy Chairman Zhao Xuemin and his

officials and said afterwards: " They were horrified by this evidence.

I will now report to the European Commission that there will be no

opposition in China to the proposed EU directive banning the import,

export and trade in cat and dog skins across the EU. "

 

Mr Xuemin told Mr Stevenson that Chinese law prohibited the

" barbarian practice " of skinning animals alive or any other kind of

cruelty.

 

He also insisted that there was no tradition in China of wearing fur

made from dogs and cats and that they were regarded as " friends and

pets " .

 

But he also admitted to Mr Stevenson: " However, we cannot deny that

incidents of cruelty do occur, such as those you have brought to our

attention.

 

" Sadly this barbaric trade is driven by economic factors. But these

cases you have mentioned have made a strong impression on us and we

will make renewed efforts to stamp out these barbaric practices. "

 

Last January, after Lady McCartney had twice visited the European

Parliament to demand EU action, European Commissioner Markos

Kyprianou announced that Brussels was considering a ban on the cat

and dog fur trade as part of a five-year plan to improve animal

welfare.

 

Mr Stevenson said that decision was regarded in Beijing as helpful to

China's new pledge to eradicate the trade: " Commissioner Kyprianou

can now proceed with all possible speed to get approval for an

outright ban. "

 

The Commission said it was looking at a ban " for ethical reasons and

in response to considerable public concerns " .

 

The Humane Society International helped exposed the business,

revealing evidence of a thriving cat and dog fur trade in many

European countries including France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Austria,

the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark.

 

An estimated two million cats and dogs are being killed each year in

China to fuel the trade, which is not illegal in the EU.

 

DNA tests have shown that many rugs, coats and figurines on sale in

shops in European countries are made from real cat and dog fur but

are usually marketed as being made of fake fur.

 

--

Kim Bartlett, Publisher of ANIMAL PEOPLE Newspaper

Postal mailing address: P.O. Box 960, Clinton WA 98236 U.S.A.

CORRECT EMAIL ADDRESS IS: <ANPEOPLE

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