Cats, dogs and a cruel trade in fur

THAT cuddly cat in a basket may look like a lovable toy for a child, but in the case of one picked up in a Shetland gift shop by MEP Struan Stevenson, a judicious DNA test proved that, in a particularly grotesque irony, the toy was actually made from dog skin. The label simply stated "official animal by-product - China".

Other good reasons why the Scottish Conservative MEP welcomes the European Commission's publication of a draft directive banning the import, export and trade in cat and dog fur lie in his Brussels office - a full-length fur coat, purchased in Berlin, made from 42 alsatian puppies, and a rug, bought in Copenhagen, made from four golden retrievers. When news of the planned ban broke on Monday, 20 November, Mr Stevenson, who has campaigned for years on the issue, was in Beijing discussing it with Chinese government officials.

To paraphrase Burns, man's inhumanity to man may make thousands mourn, but in certain parts of the world where animal rights receive short shrift, man's best friends can end up being skinned alive for the fur trade.

In our animal-loving society, we may look aghast at such callous abuses, but many countries are not so particular about what animals they exploit for trade, and how badly they treat them in the process. An estimated two million dogs and cats are killed annually by fur traders in China, a situation which became widely publicised when Sir Paul McCartney and his now estranged wife, Lady Heather Mills McCartney, mounted a campaign (and subsequently appeared in BBC1's Real Story: The McCartneys vs The Fur Trade in April this year) prompted by a BBC report which showed horrific footage of cats and dogs crammed into wire cages and callously thrown about, often with appalling injuries, before being killed and skinned. The animal rights group PETA, which made the covert video, has suggested that many are still alive when skinned, to save costs on humane killing.

Several countries, including the United States, Switzerland and France - though not Britain - have already declared any trade in dog and cat fur illegal. Last week, however, the European Commission officially proposed a ban on the production, marketing, import and export of cat and dog fur within the European Union, and announced its intention of establishing an information exchange to detect any such activity.

Ian McCartney, the minister for trade, expressed his satisfaction at the announcement, while Markos Kyprianou, the European commissioner for consumer protection, described the message from European consumers as "loud and clear - they do not find it acceptable to farm cats and dogs for their fur, nor do they want products containing such fur sold on the European market".

In China, animal rights activists have welcomed the move, while one Chinese fur trader said that if major markets such as the US and the EU refused to accept such products, they would not produce them.

The Liberal Democrat MP for Edinburgh West, John Barrett, who has been campaigning on the issue with the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, also welcomes the EU proposals and last week launched a motion in parliament calling for a total EU ban on import, export and sale of the fur. He believes that the fur enters the UK in the form of coats, jackets and children's toys - but he agrees that, short of widespread DNA testing, it can be difficult to find evidence. Mr Barrett says: "Some time ago I contacted the Department of Trade and Industry, and they told me that if there was conclusive evidence these products were getting into the UK they would take action.

"What I've been trying to do is get a volume of public opinion behind this, which I did when I presented a petition [in 2003] signed by more than 23,000 people. But I'm also working with animal organisations to provide hard evidence.

"Others have shown that these products are available elsewhere in the EU - coats made out of alsatian fur, for instance. My other concern is that these products are accessible on the internet.

"There's clearly been a move at European level, although there's been a feeling that Britain was lagging behind."

Mr Barrett agrees that in some countries there may be a cultural problem in taking animal rights seriously. "And I understand when people say, 'Why are you talking about animal rights in a country like China, that has such a rotten human rights issue?' But we're also pressing them, even more so, to improve their human rights record. We would never downplay the importance of human rights, but there is plenty of evidence that people who are cruel to animals are also cruel to people."

At the Edinburgh headquarters of the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, of which Mr Barrett is honorary vice-president, the organisation's parliamentary officer, Leonora Merry, says part of the problem in detecting the furs is that they are not properly labelled. "Unless you get it tested, it's difficult to know what it is," she says. "There was an undercover film made by Panorama a few years ago which showed dog and cat pelts being stored in a warehouse in London, so we have these bits and pieces of semi-evidence, but it's difficult to prove. That's why we started campaigning with John Barrett.

"The economics suggest it is definitely coming into the EU, but it is probably being stored in the UK before being moved on elsewhere. "The US [once a major market for such products] has banned dog and cat fur, so there is an economic pull to the EU. And once it comes into the EU, because of the free movement between countries, it's difficult to monitor."

In Beijing, Mr Stevenson says that news of the EU directive was met by government officials with "generally a positive reaction". Later in the week, he was due to visit a live animal market, "to see for myself the distressing sights which I hope this new directive will bring to an end".

Mr Stevenson hopes that, given a smooth passage through the European Parliament, the directive will become law in all 27 member states next year. The disturbing evidence he has gathered over the years includes cat skins bought at Barcelona's Ramblas, as well as a cat-skin rug purchased outside Brussels. "All of these items have been positively DNA-tested," he says. "The fur is also used to trim parka hoods, make ski-glove and ski-boot linings. Dyed to look like faux fur, it is also used for a host of fashion items."

Rarely betraying their true source, such furs may be labelled as "wild cat", "rabbit", "gae-wolf", "wild dog" or "mountain cat". In 2002, a study commissioned by the Dutch animal rights organisation Bont voor Dieren identified canine DNA in five out of 93 suspect fur items examined, all of them produced in the Far East.

"There has never been a detailed search undertaken in the UK," says Mr Stevenson, "but I see no reason why, when these items are readily available in every corner of Europe, that the UK should be any different.

"Since the US imposed a total ban, Europe has become something of a dumping ground for cat and dog fur from China."

And he adds that, despite what one might presume, this isn't necessarily a cultural issue. "Dogs and cats are widely respected and kept as companion animals in China, too," he says. "Although dogs are eaten in certain parts of China, generally their fur is not suitable for this trade. These are domestic dogs and cats, killed and often skinned alive, specifically for their fur."

VOICES OF PROTEST

TODAY, Struan Stevenson MEP will join Heather Mills McCartney at the European Parliament to present a petition of more than 240,000 signatures, gathered from all over Europe, to Arlene McCarthy MEP, who, as chairwoman of the parliament's consumer affairs committee, will be dealing with the draft legislation.

Sir Paul McCartney and his now estranged wife, along with Yes keyboard player Rick Wakeman, went to considerable lengths to publicise the issue of dog and cat-fur farming, with Ms Mills McCartney bursting into tears during a Brussels screening of harrowing footage that showed cats and dogs at a market in Guangzhou, southern China.

The animals were crammed into tiny wire cages, then dropped from the top deck of a converted bus on to the pavement. Clearly in agony, they were then thrown over a high fence before being beaten to death and skinned. Some were thrown into boiling water while still alive.

Ms Mills McCartney protested twice about the issue at the European Parliament, while her husband vowed publicly that he would never perform in China after seeing the film, and declared he would boycott the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Describing those involved as "sick, sick people", Sir Paul said: "It's like something from the Dark Ages."