WASHINGTON – With the holiday season quickly approaching, The
Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), the nation’s
largest animal protection organization, is warning European
consumers to be on the look out and avoid purchasing items that
could well turn out to be something they would not usually
dream of buying – cat and dog fur and skins on clothing and
trinkets.
Unlike the United States which has a federal ban on the
import, export, sale and production of cat and dog fur and
skins in its shops, consumers and merchants in Europe are
continuing to be duped into buying and selling cat and dog fur
and skins because the European Union (EU) continues to drag its
heals on curtailing this trade.
“The EU’s refusal to crack down on this industry is
inexplicable,” said Betsy Dribben, director of the European
office of Humane Society International (HSI), the international
arm of The Humane Society of the United States. “Consumers in
Europe should contact EU Consumer Commissioner David Byrne and
ask that this perverse trade be stopped immediately. Closing
European markets to the influx of these products of cruelty are
essential if this industry is to meet the end that it so richly
deserves.”
The clock is now ticking on attempts to get a ban on the use
of cat and dog fur in the EU which has become a growing market
for consumers who unwittingly purchase these repugnant
items.
Members of the European Parliament are currently circulating
a Written Declaration calling for an EU ban on the import,
export, sales and production of cat and dog fur and skins. This
document requires 314 legislator signatures by December 22,
2003 for it to become the official position of the European
Parliament and force the European Commission to address this
issue – something which the Commission has dodged for more than
two years. The Council of EU Agriculture Ministers has also
placed this issue on its November 17 official agenda for
discussion but it is unlikely it will come up for a vote at
that meeting.
More than two million cats and dogs are killed each year
solely for their furs and skins, the majority of which is used
in clothing and toys that are being shipped to consumers in
Europe, according to Humane Society International. Asian
merchants regularly use fraudulent labels on goods so that
consumers have no idea what they are buying or honest merchants
what they are selling. Only Italy and Denmark have instituted
bans on the trade.
Four years ago, The HSUS conducted an 18-month undercover
investigation in Asia to document the trade in cat and dog furs
and skins. They found a horrific trade where animals are
cruelly raised then slaughtered by stabbing or strangling
solely for their furs and skins. As a result of the compelling
documentation, the U.S. enacted a federal ban on the import and
export of these furs and skins in 2000. “With Asian warehouses
filled with these skins, it is not surprising that the market
appears to have shifted to Europe,” said European director,
Betsy Dribben.
Since the initial investigation, undercover work has been
done in Europe with startling results. Cat and dog furs and
skins in coats, boots and glove linings, pompom trims, hair
bows, cat toy figurines and full sized blankets have turned up
in Spain, France, Italy, Germany, The Netherlands, Austria,
Denmark and Belgium.
The HSUS is the nation's largest animal protection
organization with over seven million members and constituents.
The HSUS is a mainstream voice for animals, with active
programs in companion animals, wildlife, animals in research
and farm animals and sustainable agriculture. Humane Society
International (HSI) is the international arm of The HSUS with
offices that cover Europe, Costa Rica and Australia.
