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06.01.08
Sales fuel sick free fur all
Boom in cruel Chinese factory farms REAL pelts now CHEAPER than FAKE
So YOU could buy them by mistake!
Bargain hunters in the January sales are unwittingly fuelling a boom in the sickening fur trade.
Shoppers are buying REAL fur while believing it must be FAKE because it's so cheap. But a
dramatic rise in pelt "hell farms" in China has slashed the price of genuine fur - making it even
less costly than some artificial alternatives.
The RSPCA and the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) are now appealing
for shoppers to be vigilant - and report anything suspicious to Trading Standards. PETA's
Yvonne Taylor said: "There is a danger that people will assume a product is fake because of
its price."They may buy a jacket with a fur trim for £30 or a pair of gloves for £5 and assume
they are OK. "In truth, real fur is becoming very cheap with a lot being exported from China
where there are no regulations on the trade."
Some animals are hunted in the wild in China but a shocking 85 per cent of the fur comes
from
farms where creatures are caged, slaughtered and skinned. Cats, dogs, mink,
chinchillas,
raccoons and rabbits are among millions of animals in the hellish camps. Secret
filming has
shown animals going insane after months or years in tiny cages. Some creatures
have eaten
their own young in torment and despair.
The animals are killed by electrocution, gassing, or by being bludgeoned or having their necks
snapped. Horrifically, some can still be ALIVE when they are skinned to protect the pelt.
Much
of the fur ends up for sale in markets. However, last month the RSPCA found high
street
shops
with fur goods marked as synthetic, but which were real. Items included a
designer jacket
made
from arctic fox, and gloves from rabbit. One of the major shops operated
a fur-free policy but
hadn't checked properly.
An RSPCA spokesman said: "This shows that although most Britons don't want to wear fur
they
don't always know what they are buying. "And through no fault of their own they may be
helping
this despicable fur industry to survive."
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Always check the label. However, be aware shops are not lawfully bound to tell you if a
product
contains real fur - only if it contains artificial fur. Be careful as some clothes labels
will have
information written in another language to hide the fact it is real fur. Before you buy
do
a simple
test by gently pulling the hairs apart on the material. If the separate strands are
sewn into
a weave
or synthetic base, the fur is fake. If the fur looks or feels like skin it will be
real.
Send a message to retailers by buying all your goods from "fur free" stores, Marks and
Spencer
and Selfridges are among the big name brands. If in doubt report the seller and
the item to your
local trading standards office.
Full article:
If you have inherited a fur coat you no longer want, donate it to Fur Free Liverpool or PETA
who
will use it in their demos or other campaign work.
