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MEP Struan Stevenson gegen den Handel von Hunde- und Katzenfellen (E) CANIS
hat dem britischen Abgeordneten zum Europäischen Parlament (MEP) Struan
Stevenson eine Anfrage gestellt, inwieweit ein mögliches Verbot von
Katzen- und Hundepelzen (so genannten pet pelts) innerhalb der EU
fortgeschritten ist. Mr
Stevenson, ein Schotte, ist Mitglied der konservativen Tories und
Vorsitzender des Fischereikomitees des Europäischen Parlaments. In
dieser Funktion macht er sich stark gegen die Treibnetzfischerei von
Spanien u.a. Staaten. Zudem ist Struan Stevenson vehementer Gegner von pet
pelts. Gemeinsam mit dem sozialdemokratischen britischen
Handelsminister Mike O’Brien arbeitet er derzeit an einem Verbot für
Haustierpelze innerhalb des United Kingdom. Infos
zu MEP Stevenson: http://www.conservatives.com/people/person.cfm?PersonID=3603
E-Mail vom 9. September 2003 Dear
Mr Willer, Thank
you so very much for you letter and your interest in cat and dog fur. I
am pleased to update you on the latest developments on the cat and dog
fur issue. The
December 7 discovery of dog-fur garments on sale at two department
stores, Carrefour and La Rinascente, in Turin, Italy, has opened a
Pandora's box of shocking facts about fashion's latest victims:
companion animals. As
you know, more than two million cats and dogs are estimated by the
Humane Society of the USA to be being slaughtered and sold annually as
part of the international fur trade. In 1997-1998, HSUS and German
journalist Manfred Karremann conducted an 18-month joint investigation
into the slaughter and skinning of cats and dogs in China. The
society has since conducted investigations in many European countries
where items made with dog and cat fur (mainly imported either in pelt
form or as finished products from China) have been discovered on sale. The
issue of banning the sale, import and export of cat and dog fur in the
EU has been discussed extensively in the European Commission. On
November 27 at a meeting of all EU agriculture ministers the Swedish
minister proposed such a ban and was immediately backed by nine of the
fourteen other ministers. However, on December 18 EU Commissioner for
Health and Consumer Protection David Byrne decided against an EU ban on
dog and cat fur items, ruling that it was up to each member state to
make its own legislation on this matter. I
strongly believe that it is undoubtedly both an issue of consumer fraud
and animal welfare, but if the animal welfare side is stressed, it will
never be banned. Some lobbyists push for accurate labelling if a
complete ban cannot be achieved, but no manufacturer is ever going to go
for that – if a label says, 'Cat fur', nine out of ten consumers won't
buy it. Rumours
abound of items allegedly made with dog hair, but proof is costly and
difficult to obtain. A forensic scientist can examine cat hair under a
microscope, which is easy and inexpensive, but dog hair can only be
determined with DNA testing, which can cost around 12,000 euros per
test. It is also very difficult, after the complex processing of fur
garments, to get a valid sample – HSUS investigators had to submit
tens of furs to get one reading. The
industry is quick to quash any suggestions that cat and dog furs might
be available on the market. It is usually argued that furriers have no
reason to use it as cat fur looks cheap and is of poor quality. They
would prefer to use expensive skins in order to make a larger profit. During
recent investigations in Europe, however, HSUS undercover researchers
met the owner of a German company prominent in the cat fur trade. He
told the investigators that he obtains cat furs from Europe and has cat
fur garments manufactured in Greece. I
strongly believe that things will only get worse unless an EU-wide ban
is introduced. At the moment, it is highly unlikely that cats and dogs
are being killed in Europe for this trade. But as long as the trade from
Asia is not shutoff, there is the possibility that someone in a European
country thinks, "Here's a good way to make some money..." Indeed,
this is the actual situation in other EU countries as far as this issue
is concerned where only Italy and Denmark have introduced a ban.
Italy On
December 7, 2002, jackets with dog-fur trimmed hoods were found on sale
at the Turin branches of Carrefour and La Rinascente department stores. Three
years before Italy introduced a ban on the import, export and trade of
items made with companion animal fur, designers Dolce & Gabbana
unveiled a micro skirt made entirely of "Chinese cat" at the
Milan collections in February 1999. When groups such as People for the
Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) demonstrated outside the Dolce &
Gabbana flagship store in Milan, D&G backtracked and claimed that it
was actually pony skin. PETA's Italian office asked for samples for DNA
testing, but were refused. The garment disappeared immediately
afterwards. In
the early 1990's the Tecnica Spa company in Turin was discovered to be
using dog fur imported from China in the linings for ski boots. At the
same time Tecnica USA, a subsidiary, was marketing a line of boots
labelled "Trim: Chinese dog fur." According
to HSUS investigations, the owner of the Geopelli Srl leather goods
company in San Miniato recently admitted to importing dog skins from
China. Germany HSUS
reports that the website, www.zweitehand.de
, listed Gae-Wolfmantel (gae-wolf is a fantasy name for domestic dog)
for sale as recently as May 5 and May 21, 2001. This site has listed
numerous dog and cat fur coats over the years. In
Pelz Papas, Berlin, HSUS investigators videotaped gae-wolf coats
available for sale in December 1999.In Pelze Losche, Berlin, HSUS
investigators purchased a gae-wolf coat with invoice, December 1999. Investigators
documented 10,000 Korean gae-wolf pelts offered at a major auction house
in Leipzig, April 1997. Monitored between 1997 and 1998 by HSUS
researchers, this auction house listed regular offerings of gae-wolf
pelts. France Garenne-Colombes
(Hauts-de-Seine). In March 2000 a stash of cat skins was discovered in a
warehouse. Acting
on the basis of an anonymous tip, Nanterre police found the cat skins
buried under a pile of assorted other animal skins. (Agence
France-Presse Newswires, March 8, 2000). Deux-Sevres,
1997 – The Directions des Services Veterinaires discovered 1,500cat
skins held by a merchant intending to export them for the manufacture of
toys. (Agence France-Presse Newswires, March 8, 2000). Spain In
2000 – A garment purchased in a Barcelona store was identified through
forensic analysis as domestic cat fur. The
Netherlands Bont
von Dieren, an animal protection group in the Netherlands, randomly
sampled toy figurines in the shape of sleeping cats, hair bows and trims
on sweaters. DNA testing showed those items all to be made of real dog
fur. The hair bow had been dyed bright red to resemble fake fur. None of
the items were labelled as dog fur.
Austria In
August 2002 HSUS investigators visited Vienna. They were readily able to
purchase cat fur blankets and belts from Tels and Hoff, which allegedly
had beneficial ashomeopathic remedies because of their so-called
electromagnetic qualities. The wholesaler told investigators that the
fur comes from China. Greece So
far, investigations have not been carried out in Greece by HSUS or any
other agency. There have been reports of many suspicious items on sale,
most of which, however, have yet to be confirmed by scientific analysis.
In summer 2000 a member of the Friends of the Cat charity purchased from
a souvenir shop on Kefalonia a toy cat figurine imported from China. The
item was sent to the UK-based Royal Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals(RSPCA) for analysis. Forensic examination revealed
the figurine to be made from domestic cat fur.
I
hope you will find this useful. Kindest
regards, Struan
Stevenson MEP
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