Wearing our Best Friends, Literally

I followed a number of links to PETA’s (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) site not too long ago while following articles on horse-drawn carriages. There’s a movement to ban them, but that’s another story. So while I’m there, I’m reading about their various campaigns and watching some of their investigative videos. I came across one on Chinese Fur Farms that I had absolutely no idea about, and I must say, could not even conceive of in my mind.

I do not wear fur. I never have and never will. I’m not into it, and at a conceptual level, it holds no appeal for me. I would prefer others to not wear fur, but the truth is I didn’t know much about the fur industry. Holy guacamole, this video hit its mark because I started to read and write letters.

Over half of the fur fashion/products imported into the US is from China. It is estimated China kills over 2 million cats and dogs each year for their fur. This is of course in addition to mink and other animals known for their fur.

I won’t go into the argument of whether or not one should wear fur. But if you knew your fur was taken as inhumanely as these undercover videos are showing, could you still wear that fur? Fur farmers are all over the world. I don’t know how all the fur farmers house and kill their fur animals, but the films I’ve seen out of China are just horrifying. Throwing live animals tied into a bag into boiling water. Skinning live animals without killing them first. This was the worst for me – seeing these animals struggling in pain as they are skinned, seeing some of them still moving after all their skin has been removed. What kind of person could do this to a living creature? It is unreal, unimaginable. This undercover video captured by Swiss International in China’s Hebei province is extremely difficult to view, but if you can stomach it, it will change your life.

Apparently calls went out to boycott Chinese products and the 2008 Olympics. Guess what China’s response was? Not that it wasn’t happening. Not that they would change. Their response was that the US and Europe buy these products so it is our fault. I agree, fur consumers should be aware and stop their purchases of fur, but it does not exclude China’s culpability. It is a sick twisted relationship of greed and vanity.

How can you boycott Chinese fur though? None of the fur you see says “Harvested in China”. This is where HR 891 comes in. HR 891: Dog and Cat Fur Prohibition Enforcement Act is to ensure that domestic dog and cat fur is prohibited from being imported, exported, manufactured, sold, or advertised in the United States and to require the labeling of all fur products under the Fur Products Labeling Act. This bill would not only prohibit the harvesting of dog and cat fur, but it would require all fur to be labeled from where it was harvested. Then, fur consumers could know where their fur was coming from and hopefully make the conscientious choice to avoid Chinese fur. It is currently on the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade’s to-do list. It was referred there a year ago. Wow. I’ve looked at who is on this committee and written to the representatives near me – James McDermott from my state of Washington and Earl Blumenauer from neighboring Oregon. I urge you to find the rep(s) closest to your neck of the woods and urge them to push this bill through. Read about the bill and find your rep here. Please take a minute to write.

I pity the next fur wearer I come across as they’re going to get an earful. Whatever your beliefs, I can’t believe human beings think it is ok to torture and inhumanely kill animals that we have decided to use for our benefit.

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