SKINNED ALIVE-The trade in cat and dog fur. Animal Aid report
Dan
http://www.animalaid.org.uk/campaign/sport/catsdogs.htm
Special report: May 2002
The photos to accompany this report are available to view online -
before you look at them please be warned that they are very graphic
and upsetting. Click here to see the photos.
SKINNED ALIVE
The trade in cat and dog fur
Imagine someone stealing your cat or dog and skinning it alive before
it dies a slow, agonising death. Yet, as hard as it is to imagine,
this is the daily reality for over two million domestic animals every
year in China.
Fuelled by the insatiable demands of a cruel and callous fashion
industry, cats and dogs, along with 40 million other animals, are
slaughtered for their fur and sold internationally.
Innocent cats and kittens are strangled and slit open while other cats
watch terrified, the little kittens among them paralysed with fear
trying to make themselves invisible, all awaiting the same fate.
The dogs are tethered by a wire noose, then stabbed in the groin, the
lucky ones bleed to death before being skinned, those less fortunate
are skinned once blood loss renders them too weak to struggle. Some
desperately try to escape in a pool of blood. This method of slaughter
causes least damage to the animals' fur, thus preserving its market
value.
A recent undercover investigation by the Humane Society of the United
States (HSUS) and investigative journalist Manfred Karreman exposed
one of the dirtiest of the fur trade's secrets. They followed the
blood trail across three continents and filmed cats and dogs being
beaten, strangled and stripped of their fur. They filmed the whole
gruesome business from the Chinese slaughterhouses to the European
auction houses.
In March 1999, BBC2's Newsnight exposed a London fur company, Alaska
Brokerage owned by Peter and Carol Bartfield, demonstrating that they
were willing to trade in cat and dog fur - although the firm claims
that it has no association with the extreme cruelty exposed by the
HSUS and Karreman. The Newsnight programme further pointed out that
the trade in cat and dog skins in Europe is legal and fur does not
have to be labelled by species or even as real fur.
While many people know that all animals killed for their fur suffer
terribly, few are aware of the grisly killing methods: the gassing,
lethal injection, neck-breaking and anal electrocution. But the film
of cats and dogs, collected as part of the HSUS and Karreman
investigation, shows some of the most shocking footage ever shot. As
well as dogs being tied by the neck, stabbed in the groin and left to
bleed to death, cats and kittens killed by being hung from a rope and
strangled, investigators witnessed cats being hung by a wire noose
while water was forced down their throats through a hose until they
drowned. The film is silent, but it shows the animals' extreme pain
and distress as they struggle fully conscious and bleeding.
"It was terrible", recalls Karreman. "I saw a cat with her fur being
ripped off its back, screaming for a whole minute. I wake up in the
middle of the night sometimes and I can still hear her screaming. I
still see their faces, the terror and pain in their eyes; and I hear
their desperate cries."
Following the HSUS exposé, America was outraged and the government
acted immediately and outlawed the import, export and sale of products
made with dog and cat fur. The US Dog and Cat Protection Act 2000
requires all fur products, however small, to be DNA tested. Violators
are liable to six months imprisonment and a $10,000 fine.
Unfortunately, most EU countries, particularly Britain, seem reluctant
to stop this horrific trade. The US ban, however, means that more of
these products are now likely to be imported into the EU and Britain.
There is further concern that consumers may not be aware that the
fur-trimmed clothing and accessories, stuffed animals and pet toys
they are buying may be made from dog and cat fur. The Department of
Trade and Industry has long been aware that "there is a legitimate
trade in cat skins" and last year, over 500 tonnes of fur, 66 tonnes
classified as "other fur" - the category under which cat and dog fur
falls - was imported into the UK.
Dr Nick Palmer MP is the sponsor of an Early-Day Motion in the House
of Commons which has the support of 224 cross-party MP and urges the
government to follow the American precedent. At a recent Adjournment
Debate in the House he spoke of the two million cats and dogs living
and dying in appalling conditions each year in fur farms in the
Philippines and China. He also noted that the British Fur Trade
Association had promised not to deal in cat and dog fur, but the
Newsnight report had shown a "reputable member of the fur trade who
was prepared systematically to mislabel cat and dog fur imports".
Mark Glover, award-winning campaign director of Respect for Animals,
said they were "extremely disappointed with the government's
indifference. The US and Italy have banned such imports and the
government themselves have described it as 'abhorrent', yet they are
incapable of taking a moral position on anything."
Alaska Brokerage's Peter Bartfeld, formerly a director of the British
Fur Trade Association, is secretive about his involvement in the fur
trade. When I managed to track him at his home, after a series of
failed attempts, he finally returned my call with unconcealed
hostility. "I do not trade in cats and dogs," he shouted, stuttering
with fury. "And if you got your information from the animal rights
people, they're seriously misinformed. The BBC report is a completely
bogus set up." Bartfeld has previously claimed that the cat skins they
deal in come from vets... that they were already dead when acquired. A
1987 Financial Times article reported him as saying that "all European
cat skins that are used in the trade come from dead animals that have
been put to sleep by vets. Vets kill animals, not fur traders."
The BBC's 1999 investigation into Alaska Brokerage's secret activities
revealed that the company was prepared to sell cat and dog pelts to
anyone who was prepared to pay. BBC investigator Martin Wilson visited
Alaska Brokerage and filmed Peter Bartfeld offering 10,000 "goupee" (a
term for dog fur) and 150,000 cat furs. Bartfeld explained that dog is
labelled "goupee" and cat "Jeanette" or "Chinese cat", adding that
this deception is necessary "because of the sensitive nature of the
fur business". He boasted to the reporter that "whatever trade is
being done in Britain, I'm the one doing it". A Companies House search
reveals Alaska Brokerage International, formerly known as Lenhart &
Rosenberg Ltd, has been trading since 1967, listing Peter Bartfeld,
his American wife Carol and their 25-year-old son Gideon as joint
directors. A worldwide operation with offices in London and New York
and associated offices in Hong Kong (Bartfeld Trading Ltd), it is now
solely a family-owned business with an ex-directory phone number.
In China, the investigators discovered that cats and dogs were being
raised on breeding farms, many small scale, but some were collected
abandoned strays and some appeared to be stolen companion animals.
Ironically, while long-haired cats are kept as pets in China,
short-haired cats, especially ginger or grey tabbies were kept chained
outside and raised for their fur. The larger breeding farms, which
Karreman referred to as "worse than concentration camps", kept up to
300 animals at a time in appalling, squalid conditions. They saw dogs,
mostly pups under six months old, sitting in dark, windowless and
bitterly cold sheds, surrounded by the bodies of dead dogs hanging
from hooks. The dogs, chained by thin metal wire, were left with no
food or water while they waited to be transported to slaughterhouses.
This was how the dogs lived out their short, grim existence before
being crammed into tiny, filthy cages or sacks to make the harrowing
journey to the slaughterhouse - a trip which could take up to three
days while they suffered without food or water.
Following a slaughterhouse-bound truck, investigators spotted among
the dozens of terrified faces a sweet, floppy-eared mongrel who seemed
to symbolise the heartbreak of this barbaric trade. He was a small,
black dog with butterscotch eyes, not much more than a pup. He wore a
pastel collar with a heart-shaped pendant inscribed with the word
"love". Was he some child's much-loved pet? The investigators bought
the puppy, fed him and took him to the vet, then found him a safe and
loving home.
Karreman and his team risked their lives getting inside the
slaughterhouses.
"These places were very difficult to find and access was even more
difficult. We pretended to be suppliers and after we established trust
with the dealers, we got to accompany them to the farms and the
slaughterhouses. These dealers and butchers are ruthless gangsters,
they would have killed us if we were discovered. I got a lot death
threats afterwards and continue to get them. But for me it was worth
it because otherwise these things will never stop. And some good did
come out of it.
"In the Philippines, the police raided some cat slaughterhouses after
we gave them the addresses. They found thousands of cats who were
about to be killed, about 30,000 stolen pets, which is one of the
reasons the police raided it, because they were definitely stolen
pets. And in Thailand they're coming out with new animal protection
laws because of the investigation."
However it is a different story in China, a country with one of the
world's worst animal abuse record. By the time the animals reach the
slaughterhouse in the city of Harbin, many are sick and some are even
dead. The investigators watched a truck arrive one evening, densely
packed with dogs. "We had to watch these dogs being killed without
showing any emotion," Karreman says faintly in a strained, heartfelt
voice. "It was a difficult, devastating experience, crying inside
while speaking calmly. After a while your soul gets eroded. But it has
to be done, otherwise you can't deal with such people."
Designers Dolce Gabbana, who have always been big on fur, came up with
a microskirt made entirely of "Chinese cat". When groups such as
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) disclosed that this
was, in fact, made from real domestic moggie, creating an uproar, D&G
backtracked and claimed that it was actually ponyskin. "Well, if it's
not cat, why call it that?" says PETA's Andrew Butler, adding,
"Amazingly, they claimed that ponyskin was a euphemism for cat in
Italian. When our Italian office asked for samples for DNA testing,
they refused. And, of course, that one garment that was contentious
has suddenly disappeared."
The fur renaissance, if you believe the hype, has started up again.
"There is no fur renaissance," says Gucci designer Stella McCartney,
"It's just the fashion industry's sick, twisted little moment. Fur may
be on the catwalk, but it's not on the streets." But perception is
often stronger than the reality. The catwalks and fashion glossies are
ablaze with animal prints and skins.
"These days nobody cool wears fur and there's no excuse for wearing
it", says Andrew Butler: "Anyone who's horrified that dogs and cats
are kept in sickening, disgusting conditions, and that they suffer
slow, brutal deaths, shouldn't be buying fur because there's no
guarantee that the coat or the fur trim isn't cat or dog. In fact, the
likelihood is that it will be cat or dog because it's cheaper to use."
Celia Hammond, Sixties Vogue covergirl turned animal activist who owns
the two London cat clinics, the Celia Hammond Trust, believes the
demise of this greedy industry, already ailing, is inevitable: "It's
monstrously cruel, this business with cats and dogs. But people have
to remember that all fur is cruelly produced and whether it's a dog or
a fox the suffering is still the same."
Report © Britt Collins.
Join Animal Aid in the campaign against animal abuse - join Animal Aid
online now.
Camcompany
"Dan" <d...@34342.net> wrote in message
news:iclauuofsmea6e1id...@wk.net...
Dan,
This is truly horrific, surely anyone who read it and dares to view the
pictures simply has to put their hand in their pockets and send a bob or
two.
What is the matter with these people?
Thanks for posting
Ray
Alastair Rae
<camco...@btopenworld.com> wrote:
>
>"Dan" <d...@34342.net> wrote in message
>news:iclauuofsmea6e1id...@wk.net...
>> Found this disgusting report on the animal aid website
>
>Thanks for posting
No thanks. This group (uk.rec.birdwatching) is already pestered too
much crossposting by animal activists with their hysteria and abuse.
--
Alastair Rae, London, Europe.
Remove NOSPAM from my email address to reply.
My opinions are not necessarily those of my employers.
drdoody
> acted immediately and outlawed the import, export and sale of products
> made with dog and cat fur. The US Dog and Cat Protection Act 2000
> requires all fur products, however small, to be DNA tested. Violators
> are liable to six months imprisonment and a $10,000 fine.
Hold the phone a minute, cheif.
You're telling me that the USA has an actual *law* that defends cats and
dogs?
Why? They aren't endangered; if anything, we have too many of the accursed
vermin running about. So why protect them? Oh, it's because they're "cute".
Is that right?
This is just another causative factor in my progressive disgust with the
country of my origin. We are a nation overwhelmed with spineless, moronic
pansies who whimper and moan incessantly whenever their little heart strings
are tugged. Fucking pussies. This is why we're the laughing stock of the
world. What's wrong with eating cats and dogs, eh? Baking a cat with fresh
cranberries, sweet potatos and a burgundy glaze is no more inherently evil
than flipping a cowburger. Fuck, they're both animals, they both feel fear
and pain. They both wanted to live. We have the stomach (damn, couldn't
resist the pun) to eat a big, lumbering, non-cute cow but we lack the
intestinal fortitude (!) to off Socks or Fido?
This fucked-up country pisses me off more with every passing second.
In America, I can purchase a live goat, then slaughter, butcher and barbecue
it in my front yard for all the world to see and, as long as I didn't sell
it to the public, I'd be well within my rights. Hell, if you offered a
passing cop a little cabrito around here, he'd probably gladly accept.
Try that shit with a border collie some time. Take old Lassie out on the
lawn and drop a .38 snubby between her big, wet, brown eyes and see how long
it takes for the PD to haul your ass off. And do you want to know why this
is? Because dogs are cute and, almost to a man, Americans are unrepentant
pussies. If you're going to eat meat, be a total meat eater, don't draw the
line at munching on the family pet because you can't handle the conept of
consuming something you've fed. That's the same quasi logic that drives
sheeple to say dumb shit like this:
"Uh, I got the pig to eat it, but I didn't have the heart to shoot him
seeing as how I raised him and all."
PUSSIES!
That's it, I'm looking for a new home as of now. I'd like to remain in
Texas, but none of these weenies are willing to secceed from the US a second
time, so I'll be forced to relocate. I want to live in a country where
spineless retards who have insulated themselves from reality in general are
an endangered speacies that is slowly being hunted to extinction. I want to
live in a place where people who are willing to eat meat also have the
requisite balls to observe and if need be, actively participate in the
slaughter of their prey. I want to live ina place where people are held
fully responsible for their own actions and those attempting to use their
childhoods to explain away their deeds are splayed nude and spreadeagled,
then have their excuse written on a piece of unfinished lumber and shoved up
their asses. Preferably on fire.
Any ideas?
Doc: Subverting the entire human race, one sheep at a time.
Michelle Fulton
"drdoody" <drd...@dumpthisnetdot.com> wrote in message
news:TwPF9.145$Zo....@dfw-read.news.verio.net...
>
> That's it, I'm looking for a new home as of now. I'd like to remain in
> Texas, but none of these weenies are willing to secceed from the US a
second
> time, so I'll be forced to relocate.
I say.....the sooner the better. Though I don't really disagree with your
logic on which animals should serve as food, I still think you live way to
close to me.
M
Dutch
[..]
> Any ideas?
Move to Asia, they have no "pussy" social taboos about animals. They skin
and boil cats and dogs alive right in public. You'll fit right in.
Jim Webster
Michelle Fulton <mhful...@prodigy-nospam.net> wrote in message
news:m3RF9.5316$BD6....@newssvr19.news.prodigy.com...
'lock and load' Michelle, 'lock and load'
what worries me is unless we can convince him that Burma is the land of
his dreams he could get nearer to us.
--
Jim Webster
"The pasture of stupidity is unwholesome to mankind"
'Abd-ar-Rahman b. Muhammad b. Khaldun al-Hadrami'
Rynn Berry 2002
immensely when harvested. Grass cries when it is cut. Stop the slaughter
now~!!!!!