People power victory for cats and dogs
Posted, June 18, 2007 @ 16:00
Strasbourg, 18th June 2007 -- An EU-wide ban on cat and dog fur imports, which will be approved at the European Parliament in Strasbourg this week, is predicted to save the lives of more than two million cats and dogs every year in China.
Millions of people across Europe who signed petitions, sent emails and wrote letters during an eight year campaign, supported tirelessly by Conservative MEP Struan Stevenson and his colleagues, have persuaded Europe's political law-makers to act.
The EU-wide ban on cat and dog fur imports, exports and trade will now become law in all 27 Member States by the end of 2008 at the latest.
Mr Stevenson, who is travelling to Beijing after the vote to seek reassurance from the Chinese Government that the trade will be stamped out, said:
"The horrific trade in cat and dog fur is about to meet its Waterloo.
"Despite the long campaign to bring this horrific practice to an end, there are still many shoppers in the UK and Europe blissfully unaware that the items they purchase are actually made from the skins of cats and dogs. Labels give scant information of the source and often carry confusing names of non-existent animals.
"Slaughter of these animals is horrific, with cats strangled outside their cages as other cats look on and dogs noosed with metal wires are slashed across the groin until they bleed to death as the wire noose cuts into their throat."
Pelts used from these tortured creatures have appeared in EU stores as full-length coats, homeopathic arthritis aids, hair bows for children, toy cat figurines and linings for boots and gloves.
Struck by the cruelty exposed, Heather Mills McCartney and Rick Wakeman (from the rock band Yes) threw their weight behind the campaign and Dennis Erdman (one of the directors of Sex And The City) persuaded several Hollywood celebrities to call on the European Commission to act.
It’s been a long journey to victory.
Humane Society International - one of the biggest animal welfare groups in the world - launched the European campaign to ban cat and dog fur in 1999 with the support of Mr Stevenson.
Mark Glover, director of Humane Society International (UK) and Respect for Animals, said: "People are rightly disgusted when they find out that cats and dogs are being killed for their fur. The trade is barbaric and a ban is long overdue, so we are very much looking forward to a trade ban being implemented at the earliest opportunity."
David Neale, UK director of Animals Asia Foundation, added: "We have been campaigning for several years to get a ban across Europe and are delighted the issue has got this far. We are now, of course, hoping for a favourable outcome in Strasbourg this week.
"I have been to the wild animal markets in China and what you see there is horrific. It is truly appalling.
"But the truth is there wouldn't be a market for the atrocities happening there if these furs were not coming over to countries in Europe and elsewhere. A European ban on all cat and dog fur products would have a major impact down the trade chain in China and stop hundreds of thousands if not millions of animals from being killed.
"Thanks to the campaigning work and efforts of MEPs like Struan Stevenson, this issue has been brought to the forefront and the Chinese government is beginning to listen. Having back-up from British politicians on this cause has made all the difference."