Background Information
 The Situation in Asia
In some Asian countries cats and dogs are brutally killed for the fur industry and food production. The animals are specially bred in farms, caught on the streets or simply stolen from their owners. The dogs and cats, jammed in small cages often without food, water or shade, are offered for sale at markets.
Agonising Death
China is the world's largest fur supplier. Undercover researchers in the country have witnessed cats and dogs being heavily thrown to the grown to have their paws cut off. They are beaten, hung up, bled to death and throttled with loops of wire. Sometimes animals have their skins ripped off their living bodies while they are still fully conscious. The last moments of their lives are spent on a mound of their dying fellows, helplessly suffering in horrific agony.
Labelling Fraud
Many furs subsequently make their way into the international fur trade. Clothing trimmings, toys or rheuma blankets, for example, are made from the furs. An investigation of the American animal protection organisation "Humane Society" discovered that furs are declared according to the wishes of the retail outlet. In doing this, one of the techniques was the use of fantasy names, like “Gae Wolf“, and yet another technique was the hiding of the origin through declarations like “100% Real Fur”. The reason for these deceptions of the consumers is clear – hardly anyone would consciously want to purchase a product that was made from or included cat or dog fur.
Fur Imports in the EU
As the USA and Australia have already enforced strict import bans on dog and cat furs, Europe has become the most important distribution market. In Europe, the import of cat and dog furs or products made from them has not been included in statistics up to now. There are no official numbers. According to estimations of animal welfare organisations, hundreds of thousands of these furs make their way into the European Union each year.
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International
Europe
Austria
Bulgaria
Germany
Hungary
Netherlands
Romania
South Africa
Switzerland
Ukraine
United Kingdom
USA
