Severe Animal Rights Abuses in China - Fur

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PETA Exposes Severe Animal Rights Abuses in China

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By Shi Ju The Epoch Times

Mar 09, 2005

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	PETA Vice-President Dan Mathews in front of Manhattan’s Macy’s department store building, holds up fur-trimmed jackets made by Tommy Hilfiger that bear the “Made in China” label to explain the video recording to passers-by.

NEW YORK - On the afternoon of February 28, members of PETA held a news conference in front of the Manhattan Macy’s department store building. They held up fur-trimmed jackets made by Tommy Hilfiger that bear the “Made in China” label, and showed video footage recording the barbaric slaughter of animals on Chinese fur farms.

The Chinese fur industry has eclipsed all other countries combined to become the world’s largest fur supplier to the United States, Canada, and Europe. Fur has resurfaced in fashion because it is now cheaper to use than ever, as a result of imports from China, where millions of foxes, raccoons, minks, and rabbits are killed in ways that would shock unsuspecting consumers in the Western countries where the fur is sold.

The video footage played at this press conference was the first-ever exposé of Chinese fur farms. In the past year, an undercover reporter visited several animal farms in Hebei Province, where the numbers of animals killed have increased from 50 to 6,000 animals. The reporter used a pinhole camera to record inside stories from these breeding farms which are horrifically cruel. Footage of a Hebei Province's animal fur trade market shows a fox being hung upside down and skinned alive. The animals were then piled up on the ground, with those already skinned painfully struggling side by side for more than 10 minutes, until eventually ceasing to breathe.

The PETA Vice-President, Dan Mathews, stated that not only human rights are seriously encroached upon in China, but also animals cannot escape this cruel treatment. At present, there are no animal protection laws there. The massacre of these animals in Hebei was cruel in the extreme and difficult to imagine for people from other countries.

After watching the video footage, one Chinese person commented, "It’s really cruel; I really don’t know how they could do things like this. What’s the matter with the people there nowadays? How could they do such a thing without exhibiting human nature? It’s bad enough towards humans, for instance torturing to death the Falun Gong practitioners who practice Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and the Christians who promote benevolence. But towards animals, as was just seen a moment ago, this kind of behavior should not belong to humans even though it is actually seen quite often. What kind of element makes people lose their conscience?"

According to statistics from Chinese Customs, in 2003, China’s animal fur export value had reached US$1 billion. Compared with 2002 it had grown 42.5 percent. It is estimated that China produces 1.5 million fox and raccoon skins every year. It also produces marten (weasel) fur, dog fur, cat fur, etc.

PETA has placed the inside story about Chinese fur farms and the slaughtering on their website http://www.peta.org for general access.