EU proposes cat and dog fur ban

[barb162]

EU proposes cat and dog fur ban

Last Updated: Monday, 20 November 2006, 13:47 GMT


Steps to ban trade in cat and dog fur across the EU have been announced by the European Commission.

The move follows a request for action from EU member states, and a campaign by Paul McCartney and his estranged wife, Heather Mills McCartney.

It is estimated that two million cats and dogs are being killed in China by fur traders each year.

Fifteen EU states have already taken some action on cat and dog fur, but it is still legal in the other 10.
snip
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6165786.stm

[LeftyMom]

1. Good. They are working on a seal fur ban, too.

Both are already illegal in the US, although dog fur items have shown up on US shelves from time to time (gloves at Walmart, a coat at Burlington Coat Factory...)

[barb162]

3. I think I have seen cat fur on some items and it was appalling

I am pretty darm sure it was cat fur

[schmuls]

7. That's right and it is really disgusting. If only people would pay

more attention to the fur on coats and had compassion, the whole market for this abuse would collapse!

[barb162]

12. Hopefully this EU ban will go through

and those who still think it is okay won't have the choice to condemn these poor animals

[jilln]

14. You know what REALLY makes me sick?

Pet stores that sell cat and rabbit food in one aisle, then real fur cat toys in another. Many of the cat toys come from China, where it could very well be cat fur and since the fur industry won the right not to have small amounts of fur labeled, who's to say it's not dog or cat or rabbit despite the US ban on dog and cat fur?

[Beaverhausen]

2. Excellent. Hope this passes

:hi:

[barb162]

4. You know it!

People should check here too. I think things slip by customs inspectors and that dog and cat fur are being sold here.

[Beaverhausen]

5. I don't buy anything that has fur on it - fake or not

I don't want to take the chance.

[barb162]

9. Good. These poor animals

get killed for vanity and greed

[CrispyQ]

6. "If you want to wear fur, stop shaving."

I hope this passes.

What I really hope is that someday the human collective realizes what barbarians we've been to our fellow inhabitants of this fine planet & that our shameful behavior diminishes every good thing about us.

[JudyM]

24. Hear, hear, CrispyQ! I'm with you on that.

Have you heard about "cultured meat?" If not, check this out:

http://www.vegetariantimes.com/document_display.cfm?document_id=515

this is an opposing viewpoint:
http://www.alternet.org/envirohealth/38755/

and this is the nonprofit org. founded to support the research:
http://www.new-harvest.org/default.php
Note this site has quite a bit more info on the issue at its'resources' link
I'm adding them to my end-of-year giving list this year!

:hi:

[CrispyQ]

28. Great links. Thanks for sharing.

I've read a little about this, but the New Harvest link has lots of info. I had to grimace at the "yuck factor" of vat grown meat, discussed in the Alternet article though.

snip...

[]The concept is as simple as it is horrifying. Take some stem cells, or myoblasts, which are the precursors to muscle cells. Set them on "scaffolding" that they can attach to, like a flat sheet of plastic that the cells can later be slid off of. Put them in a "growth medium" -- some kind of fluid supplying the nutrients that blood would ordinarily provide. "Exercise" them regularly by administering electric currents or stretching the sheets of cells mechanically. Wait. Harvest. Eat.

====

So, diseased, tumor-ridden, antibiotic & hormone laden flesh from a severely abused animal is not horrifying? :eyes:
People's rationalizations for their reprehensible behavior never ceases to amaze me.

:hi:

[JudyM]

31. Yes, they just close their eyes to what they don't want to see. n/t

[Katzenjammer]

27. Right on, sister. Preach it!

It's the same we-are-superior-and-can-do-whatever-we-want attitudes that are behind every misery on earth.

The first sin was to treat living beings as things.

The worst sin is to love things and use living beings.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

8. What should I do with my cat fur coat?

[barb162]

10. Well, if it is sitting on your cat as his own skin, pet him

and give him a hug

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

13. Actually, the cat is over there, her coat is on the pile of clothes I just folded.

:cry:

[meow2u3]

20. My cat fur coats are gracing my bed as I type

and they're not about to move until--and unless--I go to bed. Then I'll be wearing fur--on the cats, and ALIVE!!

[CrispyQ]

15. Great photo!! --nt

[demnan]

11. Four cheers from me and mine

headbutts and purrs to the EU!!!

[Javaman]

16. Need a question answered...

I'm not condoning the practice at all but are these same cats and dogs that are bred for this fur the same cats and dog that are regularly eaten over there? Aka using the whole animal?

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

17. It's considered a faux pas to mix domesticated feed animals with

domesticated pelt breeds.

[Javaman]

19. huh, didn't know that. kinda odd. Thanks. :) nt

[Quantess]

21. Well, I suppose they may as well not waste anything, but,

Since I doubt anyone in western culture, i.e. Europe, wants to eat dog or cat meat, I likewise doubt they would want to wear dog or cat fur. The countries that eat their meat can use the fur themselves, I guess. They can keep it!

The potential problem with exporting dog & cat fur to Europe is that the consumers might not be aware what type of animal it came from. If they knew they probably wouldn't buy it.

[Quantess]

18. Gross.....that should pass overwhelmingly.

I doubt many Europeans would knowingly wear dog or cat fur.

[Vidar]

22. Good for the EU.

[BreweryYardRat]

23. Congratulations EU.

Good for them.

And what the fuck is with the Chinese? You can probably make fur trim out of what a long-haired cat or two sheds in a day. No need to kill the poor animals.

[Mind_your_head]

25. Strange but true story...

The kids in my daughter's science class were doing an experiment on static electricity. Each student was given a fur pelt to rub on the pie pans, balloons, etc. for the experiment. When the experiments were finished, the kids got to bring everything home.

Well, when our cat went over by the fur pelt, she started licking it (as if she was cleaning it) and then would lay on it and purr. I'm guessing that it was cat fur that the teacher bought (unknowingly probably)....she told the kids it was rabbit fur. My cat's reaction was really strange I thought...if it was indeed cat fur, it's amazing to me that animals can sense/know that this was a "fellow" cat.

[Katzenjammer]

26. *EXCELLENT* There's a lot about China to love, but this kind of thing should

have been banned long ago. (Most Chinese, too, think this trade is disgusting, according to the mainland-born Chinese I've worked with.)

[Kber]

29. Cat and dog fur? Yuck!

I spend a good % of my house / laundry cleaning energy trying to get rid of the cat and dog fur in my house.

You want cat fur around, adopt a pet cat, I say. Collect the excess and you should have the makings for a set of gloves in a no time flat!

[HuffleClaw]

30. what sort of dogs and cats?

don't think i've noticed too many 'tortoiseshell', 'tabby', or 'siamese' coats around. or a pair of 'labrador' mittens.