Toys made out of cat fur discovered by Finnish Customs

EU Commission wants ban for such products

print this

Hundreds of cuddly kitten toys made out of cat fur have been imported to the Finnish market from China this autumn. Furthermore, the Customs have come across a shipment of 30 Chinese fur coats also made out of cat skin, the National Board of Customs reveals.
      "So long as these products are not banned, they will enter the market", the National Board of Customs continues.
      The Customs have monitored the importation of products made out of domestic animal skins since the summer of 2005.
     
In September this year, the Customs first became aware of shipments of products made out of cat fur. So far the Finnish officials have not come upon any items made from dog skins.
      This is not to say cat and dog skin products have not been imported into Finland before, and even in larger quantities, but this has been under false product labels. This autumn's findings were only made because the products were actually labelled as having been made out of cat fur.
     
On Monday the EU Commission suggested that the importing, exporting, and selling of products made out of domestic animal fur would be banned in all 25 member states of the Union.
      "It is difficult to accept that our children would play with toys made out of cat fur", said Markos Kyprianou, the commissioner responsible for Health and Consumer Protection, in justifying the call for a ban.
      "In Europe cats and dogs are considered man's partners", the commissioner added.
      In addition to toys, clothing and decorative items made out of domestic animal fur have been brought to the European Union market. Furthermore, cat and dog skins have been traded within the EU as artificial fur, or they have been claimed to be from some other animal.
     
China's cruel treatment of cats and dogs has been reported to the EU Commission, for example, by the American animal protection organisation, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS).
      The organisation has secretly filmed, among other things, how cats are killed by hanging and how dogs are gruesomely slaughtered.


Links:
  The Humane Society of the United States

Helsingin Sanomat