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Skinned alive to make fake Ugg boots: Horrific footage reveals slow, sickening deaths of raccoon dogs
Posted: 2011-11-13 17:26:33 UTC-06:00
Skinned alive to make fake Ugg boots: Horrific footage reveals slow, sickening deaths of raccoon dogs
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By Lydia Warren and Oliver Pickup
Last updated at 3:59 PM on 12th October 2011
Thousands of unsuspecting Britons may be buying imitation Ugg boots made from the pelts of animals skinned alive.
The fur comes from raccoon dogs, a species related to domestic dogs, farmed in China.
A sickening video of the skins being collected has led activists to demand a ban on the trade and call for clearer labelling.
Brutal: Workers in China skin a raccoon dog, but the animal is still alive and suffering
The raccoon dog is indigenous to Asia and related to dogs and foxes. Ugg boots, right, are made from Australian sheepskin and cost up to £200 - but cheap imitations have flooded the market
Genuine Ugg boots cost up to £200 and use sheepskin, which is produced in a humane way.
But campaigners have found that other companies in Australia, where the popular boots are made, are using raccoon dog fur farmed in China and labelling it ‘Australian sheepskin’.
Raccoon Dogs are Skinned "ALIVE" to make Fake UggsMore...
Campaigners from Humane Society International (HSI) warned that the footwear could have found its way into the UK.
While the law says that no products using dog or cat fur may be imported or sold in the country, there is no ban on fur from raccoon dogs, an Asian species with links to foxes, dogs and jackals. They are not related to raccoons.
Pitiful: A bloodied and dazed creature is shown still alive but helpless on a pile of corpses
Agony: A raccoon dog is beaten to stop it struggling so it can be skinned alive
Wendy Higgins from HSI UK said: ‘I have been working in animal rights for more than a decade and have never seen a video that has shocked me so much.
‘It is not just the killing of the animals that is horrific, but the fact that they must endure such slow, painful deaths.
‘These animals are not dogs, so there is no legislative reason why boots containing the fur cannot be imported into the UK. There are also many problems with the labelling of fur products, so many consumers will not be aware of where the fur in their boots comes from.’
Websites found by HSI show other companies are selling the fur on gilets, coats and ear-muffs for delivery to the UK.
Ugg Australia denied they were using the fur in their own boots and pointed the finger at cheap copies.
Cruelty: A raccoon dog is beaten on the head in an attempt to stun it. Another dazed animal lies on the right-hand of the image
Force: A worker stands on an animal's neck to stop it struggling. The process of skinning the raccoon dogs is agonisingly slow
Lena McDonald from Ugg Australia said the use of raccoon dog fur by other companies was tarnishing the entire industry as many people were unable to tell the different brands apart.
She said her company used its own tannery to ensure the standards of its boots, but added that up to 40 products using fur from overseas contained the word ‘ugg’.
She said: ‘As far as I can see many of these boots are not made in Australia at all yet they have the words Australia and ugg on them. We have seen companies cutting off tags saying “made in China” and putting on a “made in Australia” tag.’
The UK Government announced its ban on importing cat and dog pelts from China in 2001 after it emerged that a fur collar, obtained from a leading store in the West End, contained dog fur.
A total ban on the trade in dog and cat fur came into force across Europe in December 2008.
HSI is looking into what action can ben taken and is urging readers to write to the Chinese Ambassador to lodge their disgust and horror at the cruelty endured by animals in the Chinese fur industry, particularly raccoon dogs, and to ask for the suffering to stop:
His Excellency Ambassador Liu Xiaoming
Chinese Ambassador to the UK
Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the UK
49 Portland Place
London, W1B 1JL
The screams of live dogs, and innocent animals as they were skinned alive in China
Posted: 2011-11-11 23:10:24 UTC-06:00
The screams of live dogs, and innocent animals as they were skinned alive in China
I CAN STILL HEAR THEIR SCREAMS - DOGS, CATS and ANIMALS
Exerpts By: Devvy
The men grabbed each cage off this huge truck and threw them to the ground - as high up as 30'. The cries of these adorable dogs and cats as they hit the ground sent me into shock. Several dogs and cats crammed into each cage, many already bloodied and many whose bones would break upon impact. I can still hear their screams.
As I watched the video progress, I realized that I was crying. The screams of live dogs and cats as they were skinned alive, their big eyes begging for mercy and receiving none, ripped my heart out and brought incredible rage from deep down inside. The next shots of cat pelts laid on the floor with all the dead bodies still twitching in piles cast aside like garbage, would have driven someone with a weak stomach right to the bathroom. It hardened my resolve against trading with barbarians. I can still hear their screams.
More pictures of dogs being chained - the worker jerking and tightening the chain while the eyes of incredible pain stared at the camera - prepared them for skinning, alive. I don't know what sound you call dogs and cats as they are being choked and then a knife taken to them right then and there and skinned. To me, it was screams so horrific, I can still hear them two days after I watched the video.
This is an everyday operation by "businessmen" who drive their trucks on the street like a produce truck would in the U.S. It's estimated these barbarians skin millions of dogs and cats every year - while they are alive. As I watched these "workers" go about their barbaric practice, I wondered how Americans could continue supporting them with their consumer dollar? This is Communist China in all its brutality. The skinning of live dogs and cats is done for money. These barbarians sell the pelts and toss the "meat." These pelts are illegally being intertwined with fake fur for many retail items being sold in the U.S., i.e. doll clothes and into fabric for human garments, i.e. parka hoods and sweaters. That's right: That Christmas gift sitting under the tree - if it came from Communist China - most likely is made from the fur of a dog or cat skinned alive. The EU refuses to ban this barbaric practice; it is condemned and illegal in the U.S.
Please SIGN our PETITION to Register your PROTEST of this horrific Dog and Animal Cruelty, so cruel that only EVIL humans could do such an unspeakable PAIN wrenching crime of animal cruelty to dogs and other animals.
CLICK THIS LINK TO SIGN OUR PETITION ON ANIMAL CRUELTY
Thank you from "Animals Club Freedom National Organization Incorporated" (Nonprofit)
