(CN - HK) Exotic beasts will suffer more after ban on fur trade

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The Standard (Hong Kong)

 

Exotic beasts will suffer more after ban on fur trade

 

by Patsy Moy

Friday, January 09, 2009

 

Chinese raccoon dogs and other exotic animals are in danger of being

butchered in greater numbers following a European Union ban on the

trading in cat and dog furs that came into effect on January 1,

activists say.

 

Animals Asia Foundation said the ban is great news for dogs and cats,

but does not protect other animals which will be hunted, tortured or

brutally killed in the name of fashion.

 

The group says the animal at greatest risk is the Chinese raccoon dog, a member

of the canid family with thick fur, like raccoons.

 

Before the ban, the group estimated that more than two million dogs and cats

were killed for their fur in China each year.

 

Other animal welfare groups say it is common practice for traders to use animal

furs and to tell customers that their products are fake.

 

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Asia-Pacific director Jason Baker

said the organization has discovered several European brands with production

lines in the mainland which had done so.

 

The practice was exposed when PETA sent some of the items it bought for

laboratory tests.

 

" They use fur from cats, dogs, raccoons, rabbits and foxes, " Baker said.

 

Animals Asia Foundation founder and chief executive Jill Robinson said

it is unfortunate many Hong Kong consumers may not have been aware they

were buying real fur.

 

" Just over the border in Guangzhou, as well as in many other cities

throughout China, millions of animals - including much-loved cats and

dogs that were stolen from their owners, and animals bred on farms in

appalling conditions - are brutally slaughtered for their fur each

year, " Robinson said.

 

She said animal welfare does not exist in the mainland.

 

" The fur industry in China perpetrates atrocities towards both wild and

domesticated animals, " she said.

 

Mark Jones, Animals Asia Foundation's animal welfare director, said:

" Animals are caught in brutal leg-hold traps, crammed into tiny cages

without access to water, suffer anal electrocution and are skinned alive in the

full view of others awaiting a similar fate. "

 

Acclaimed local fashion designer Walter Ma Wai-ming admitted it is

common for manufacturers to recycle fur scraps left over from making

fur-lined jackets.

 

" The scraps, which are usually of lower quality in terms of color and

pattern, are used for other products such as clothes, " Ma said.

 

He also admitted some manufacturers may not clearly label the material

used in their products, making it difficult for consumers to tell.

 

patsy.moy