Horror Chinese imports on sale in UK. Cuddly toy made from dead dogs
THE
truth about this life-like cuddly toy will shock animal lovers the
length and breadth of the country. It was bought in Scotland and appears
to be a cute kitten, curled up asleep safe and sound in its wicker
bed. But this “kitten” is made from the fur of REAL dogs — farmed in
horrendous circumstances in China and slaughtered for their pelts.
Some are skinned before they are completely dead.
The
horrific discovery was made by Scots MEP Struan Stevenson (pictured
left), who bought this particular toy from a souvenir shop in Shetland.
It was labelled “Made in China”. Small print on the reverse of the
label described it as an “animal by-product”.
We found similar items in a number of shops in Glasgow.
Souvenir shops
Mr
Stevenson says this and similar toys are in gift and souvenir shops
around Britain and Europe. Ironically, they’re a firm favourite with pet
lovers unaware of their true origins.
Pelts are often
mislabelled, says Mr Stevenson, so retailers will innocently stock them
and customers have no idea what they’re really made of.
Identical toys, bought in Holland, were tested for DNA by the Academic Medical Centre of Amsterdam.
Results
proved conclusively that they were made of dog hair. Mr Stevenson has
been tirelessly campaigning for years to put an end to the European
market for the remains of dogs and cats farmed in China.
The USA
has already banned the trade, following an 18-month undercover
investigation conducted by the Humane Society International in Communist
China.
They documented the brutal lives and cruel deaths
of more than two million dogs and cats in Asia each year — killed
solely for their skins.
Since then, Asian exporters have turned to Europe as a market for their products.
As
well as fur products, dog skins are also used as shoe leather or in
some dog chew toys — which means domestic pets may be eating the skins
of other dogs.
Richard Swain, the Humane Society’s undercover
investigator and a former Maryland police captain, said, “Make no
mistake about it, this fur is being sold throughout Europe. In China I
have seen warehouses the size of football fields piled to the ceiling
with dog and cat fur waiting to be exported to the West.”
Struan
Stevenson continued, “This is the evidence I have been waiting for. It
confirms without a doubt that the appalling trade in cat and dog fur has
penetrated the European market on a massive scale.
“Since the
USA banned all cat and dog products, Europe has become the new dumping
ground. Italy has banned cat and dog imports and it is about time other
EU member states followed suit.
“I will be writing to
Commissioner David Byrne demanding he apply an EU-wide ban on these
products. I will be sending him the latest scientific evidence as well
as a copy of The Sunday Post
Source : Gary Edwards
