The Fur Trade in China

I have been meaning to put together some information on the fur trade in China for a little while but it has taken me until now to build up the courage to enter these search terms into Google and You Tube. The results make for very upsetting viewing.

If, like me, you thought the barbaric practices of the fur trade ended years ago, you are wrong. And if, like me, you had no idea that dog and cat pelts are not only part of the Asian fur trade but also available on the European market then you should read on. The horrific and disturbing videos of dogs, cats, foxes, racoons, mink, rabbits and a whole host of other animals living in unspeakably neglectful conditions and then being skinned alive for their fur and left to die in agony are heartbreaking.

According to a BBC report, fur from dogs and cats is generally used to make fur coats, line parkas, hats, gloves, shoes, handbags, blankets, stuffed animals and toys. As the slaughter of dogs and cats is viewed as reprehensible in the West, the fur industry attempts to conceal the truth by intentionally mislabelling exports. Along with being labelled as fake/faux fur, dog and cat fur could be labelled as:

Gae-wolf

sobaki

Asian jackal

goupe

loup d'Asie

Corsac fox

dogues du Chine

exotic fur

katzenfelle

rabbit

goyangi

mountain cat.

Is that fake fur trimmed coat you bought on the high street the genuine article? For more information see the BBC article here and an article from The Independent here which reports dog fur on sale in Macy's, NYC. The RSPCA also reports that in a coat recently obtained from a well-known UK high street retailer the label stated 63 per cent polyester, 37 per cent polyamide. There was no reference at all to the real fur trim on the collar.

China has emerged as one of the world’s most powerful economies and over the last few years has become the biggest fur exporter in the world. Many of the international fur traders, manufacturers and fashion designers have shifted their business to China, where they can exploit cheap labour and the absence of restrictive animal welfare regulations. In contrast to the UK where fur farming was banned in England and Wales in 2000 and Scotland in 2002, the majority of fur farms in China were established in the last ten years.

Millions of dogs, cats, foxes, racoons, rabbits and mink are killed in China and South East Asia every year to supply the fur trade. They are often transported over large distances and under horrendous conditions before being slaughtered. I have posted the video below to show how the Chinese fur farmers and traders have a complete and utter disregard for even basic animal welfare. They are brutal, inhumane and cause an unthinkable amount of suffering.

Fur farms tend to be concentrated in China's North East and this is where millions of fur skins are traded each year. It was in the Shangcun Market that a 14-minute video was secretly produced in February 2005 by the Swiss Animal Protection SAP which shows the skinning of raccoons, foxes and other animals that are still alive and even struggling.

"Once pulled out from its cage, the raccoon dog curls up into a ball in mid-air. A few middle-aged women carrying wooden clubs gather round. One woman in a headscarf is first to grab hold of the raccoon dog's tail and the others drift away peevishly.The woman in the headscarf swings the animal upwards. It forms an arc in the air and is then slammed heavily to the ground, throwing up a cloud of dust. The raccoon dog tries to stand up, its paws scrabbling in the grit. The wooden club in the woman's hand swings down onto its forehead. The woman picks up the animal and walks towards the other side of road, throwing it onto a pile of other raccoon dogs. A stream of blood trickles from its muzzle, but its eyes are open and it continues to repeatedly blink, move its paws, raise its head and collapse to the ground. Beside it lies another raccoon dog. Its four limbs have been hacked off but still it continues to yelp. Ten or more minutes later Qin Lao approaches the raccoon dog with a knife. His job is to skin the animals. The raccoon dog is suspended upside down from a hook on the overhead bar of a motor-tricycle and the area around the hind legs and anus is scored with the knife. There is a ripping sound as the skin is torn completely from the hind legs and the animal struggles to turn away, crying out. The skin is ripped up to the abdomen. Qin Lao's body is bent with effort like a bow at full stretch, but the fur remains stubbornly attached to the flesh. A middle-aged woman jogs over to help, and their backs arched with the strain. The whole fur is finally ripped from the raccoon dog's body. The animal is thrown onto the back of the truck, steam rising from its blood-red body. It tries to stand up again, lifting its head and glancing down at its own body. Without blinking it tries once more to turn its head and then falls still. 'Skinning the animal dead or alive is all the same, but it is more convenient and neater this way. Everyone has always done it like this', explains Qin Lao."

The video in Media Player format can be found here or in Quicktime format here.

The full Chinese Fur Trade report in PDF format can be found on this page.

Why is such a barbaric practice allowed to happen? The simple answer is supply and demand. It would be easy to lay all the blame on China – a nation already tarnished with an appalling human rights record – but Western shoppers are equally responsible. If fashionistas in Europe (inc. Russia) and the US didn’t buy fur it would cease to be produced in such volume.

It is not just items of clothing that are the problem! The cat below and many like it are sold as ornamental/novelty gifts. One of the suppliers of these is a Surrey-based company Nauticalia Ltd who sell cats that look as though they are sleeping for around £25 each. According to The Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade, the cats are made out of rabbit fur from China. After browsing the Nauticalia site today, I noted that I could place an order for one of the sleeping cats without being told anywhere in the buying process that it was made from real fur.

Cat made from rabbit fur

Depressing as this all reads, it is not a hopeless cause. Positive action is being taken and progress made. Tireless campaigning by many individuals in the EU, notably Struan Stevenson MEP, meant that from 1st January 2009 dog and cat fur can no longer be legally imported into nor exported from European Union countries (note that Russia - a huge importer of Chinese fur - is not in the EU). This is very good news for the dogs and cats of China that will not be bred or stolen to feed the EU fur market. It does remain to be seen how well this ban will be policed and whether spot checks will indeed still continue to find mislabelled dog and cat fur on sale. And please do not forget that although this will impact the number of dogs and cats killed, the trade will not cease because of this decision - dogs and cats will continue to suffer horrendously for their fur in China.

This is a great start, but it is incredibly saddening that the EU places a greater value on the lives of cats and dogs than it does on other animals. It is estimated that China produced 4 million fox pelts in 2006 and approximately the same number of raccoon dog pelts. China’s estimated production of mink pelts is approximately 10 million and rising. All of these animals spend their entire lives confined in small cages and suffer appalling abuses. Should we ignore their suffering because we do not invite them into our homes?

Making a Difference

So, what can you do to make a difference? First of all, you CAN make a difference despite the horrifying facts presented here. A small amount of effort on your part could bring real change for the dogs, cats, mink, foxes, racoons, rabbits and other animals who are born and die within the Fur Farms of China. Do not fund this suffering! Below is an 7-point guide to making a stand:

Do not buy ANY fur products. While shopping recently I noted that many high street fashion stores stocked 'faux fur' products that were made in China. If you can not be sure the fur is fake, don't buy it. The Coalition Against the Fur Trade has some useful advice on spotting real fur on this page.
Do not buy ANY fur lined products. Pay attention to coat hoods, hats, gloves and toys.
If you are more Bond Street than Oxford Street, boycott designers that use real fur in their collections. According to the British Fur Trade Assocation the following designers choose to work with fur (along with many more): Giorgio Armani (who recently reneged on his promise to stop using fur), Alberta Ferretti, Alexander McQueen, Jill Sander, John Galliano, John Richmond, Ann Demeulemeester, Julien Macdonald, Karl Lagerfeld, Louis Feraud, Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs, Yves Saint Laurent, Issey Miyake, Versace, Hermes, Vera Wang, Giorgio Armani, Gianfranco Ferre, Etro, Emanuel Ungaro, DKNY, Patrick Cox, Christian Dior and Chanel.
Boycott shops that sell fur and let the shop manager know.
Boycott celebrities that wear fur. Here are a few very famous ladies to get you started: Dita von Teese, Emma Bunton, Madonna, Kate Moss (taste in coats as bad as taste in men), Jennifer Lopez, Beyonce Knowles and Gwyneth Paltrow.
Spread the word: tell anyone and everyone you know about the Chinese Fur Trade. Email them a link to this page. Smaller demand means fewer animals slaughtered.
Try your best to boycott China and Chinese goods: it is not as difficult as you might think. Make sure you let manufacturers and the Chinese government know that you are doing this and why. The Chinese Embassy in London can be reached at the following address (for Chinese Embassy details in other countries look here):

Ambassador: Fu Ying

Address: 49-51 PORTLAND PLACE LONDON W1B 1JL

Tel: 0044-20-72994049, 0797 0292561 (24 hours)

Fax: 0044-20-76362981,76365578

Administrative Office: 72994021

Political Office: 72994037

Press Office: 72994070, 72994071

Website: http://www.chinese-embassy.org.uk

E-mail: chinaemb_uk@mfa.gov.cn

Regardless of the animal - be it a dog or a mink - there is nothing acceptable about fur on our catwalks or in our high street stores. I strongly believe that most people would not buy fur products if they realised the suffering that had gone into making them, and this includes fur sourced from Europe. Celebrities who endorse this cruelty do so with a wicked indifference, making it more acceptable in the eyes of many of today's young people who missed the anti-fur campaigns of the early 90s. Stella McCartney has proved that it is perfectly possible to run a successful fashion house without endorsing ANY animal cruelty. And despite many designers and fur associations touting the weak excuse that fur is part of human history in cold climates, I would remind them that the historical attraction to fur was not aesthetic, it was based solely on survival. I doubt very much that Kate Moss would freeze to death without her fur coat!

The Fur Trade in China

Making a Difference

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