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Dog Scandal Pushes New Fur Labeling Bill

February 7, 2007


	©The HSUS/Karremann
	We thought we had stopped the deplorable trade in dog fur, but it's still coming into the U.S. on jackets made in China. » See video from the original investigation.

Dog fur on jackets, raccoon dogs skinned alive, real fur sold as "faux" or with no labels at all—some members of Congress have had enough.

Federal legislation to protect American consumers and animals from the fur trade was introduced Feb. 7 by Reps. Jim Moran (D-Va.) and Michael Ferguson (R-N.J.) and an additional 27 original co-sponsors.

The Dog and Cat Fur Prohibition Enforcement Act would stop the sale of fur from raccoon dogs—a member of the canine family—and would also require that all fur garments, regardless of value, be labeled.

TAKE ACTION

Dogs and raccoon dogs are suffering and being sold as "faux fur." Ask your representative for truth in fur labeling!

A loophole in the existing law allows a jacket trimmed with $150 worth of fur to be sold without a label. Because animal fur is often sheared and dyed to look fake, an unsuspecting consumer who thinks she is getting faux fur could be purchasing animal fur.

Dog Fur on Sale

An ongoing investigation by The HSUS has found some of the biggest names in fashion selling raccoon dog fur trim on jackets that were mislabeled, advertised as another species or not labeled at all. The investigation also turned up dog fur on sale.

The HSUS investigation has found:

TEST RESULTS

See which brands used dog
or raccoon dog fur,
and how they were labeled.

Dog fur sold online as "faux" by Nordstrom's, Tommy Hilfiger and Bluefly.com. The brands involved are Tommy Hilfiger, Joie and Andrew Marc.

Raccoon dog fur on coats sold online as "raccoon" by Neiman Marcus, Dillard's and Loehmann's (via Smartbargains.com), and as "rabbit" by Bergdorf Goodman and Footlocker. The brands involved were Andrew Marc, Michael Kors, Oscar de la Renta, Bogner and Rocawear.

Misidentified or unlabeled raccoon dog fur sold on jackets by retailers and brands including DKNY, Lord and Taylor, Ross, D.E.M.O, Rocawear, Macy's, Baby Phat, J.C. Penney and Burlington Coat Factory.

Loophole Allows Unlabeled Fur


© Lauri Sippu
If these inquisitive young raccoon dogs were born in a Chinese fur operation, they would grow up in a tiny cage and might be skinned alive to trim U.S. jackets. » See video of raccoon dog skinning.

Half of all fur garments entering the United States come from China, where large numbers of dogs, cats and raccoon dogs, among other species, are killed for their fur, and live skinning has been documented.

The Dog and Cat Protection Act of 2000 banned the trade in dog and cat fur after an HSUS investigation revealed the death toll to be two million a year and found dog fur for sale in the United States. However, the Act does not protect raccoon dogs.

The new bill would protect raccoon dogs and also support the ban on selling dog and cat fur by discouraging manufacturers who might think they can slip it onto unlabeled jackets. The new bill would require that all fur garments be labeled, thus closing the loophole in the Fur Products Labeling Act of 1951.

What You Can Do

Tell your representative that you've had enough! Urge him or her to co-sponsor and support the Dog and Cat Fur Prohibition Enforcement Act.