Skinned Alive - Cats and Dogs Killed for the Fur Trade

Hanging by the neck from a wire noose, water is poured down their throat through a hose until they drown. Many are skinned while still alive.

This is just one of the horrific scenes captured on video by investigators from the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) as they infiltrated the cat and dog fur industry in China, Thailand and the Philippines. Cats and dogs that were once someone's pets, rounded up, transported in sacks and crates. Some are held in dingy, dark unheated buildings during the bitter winter of northern China, often without food or water.

The 18-month undercover investigation discovered that the trade in cat and dog fur is far bigger than was ever previously believed - the HSUS has revealed that more than 2 million of these domestic animals are abused and killed by the international fur trade each year. And this sick trade isn't just something that happens in far off lands - at least one company in Britain recently traded openly in the furs of these animals.

Infiltrating this industry, the HSUS and German investigative reporter Manfred Karremann filmed and photographed the whole sordid business from start to finish, exposing how the trade is inextricably linked to the rest of the fur industry. Cat and dog fur products were found by the HSUS in several countries across Europe as well as the USA, and according to the HSUS "(fur) auction house employees said that some of their customers come from the US, though most are from Great Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain."

These animals end up as gloves, coats, hats or fur trim; their skins are used in the production of drums and other musical instruments.

Some of the animals are raised on breeding farms, mostly in northern China where the colder climate enhances the quality and thickness of the animals' coats. Anywhere from 5 to 300 dogs are kept on dog farms; up to 70 cats are kept on the cat farms. Not all the animals come from these breeding centres; some Chinese families keep a few cats or dogs and kill them when the annual slaughter season begins....

Source: Skinned Alive - Cats and Dogs Killed for the Fur Trade

Link: Video 'Silent Screams'
Link: Want to do battle with J. Lo?
Link: 'Monster-in-Fur'


Other EVANA-articles about this topic:
EU: Cat and dog fur: Commission proposes total EU ban (en)

24 November 2006 - International (en)

PETA: Tell eBay to Stop Allowing the Sale of Dog Fur, Live Dogs and Cats, in China (en)

EU: Animal rights protesters hail ban on sale of dog and cat fur (en)

Voice4Dogs: Dog and cat fur - a merciless trade (en)

Belgium: Exposing the trade in cat and dog fur (en)

China pledges to stop cat and dog fur trade (en)