IRISH WOLFHOUND SOCIETY OF IRELAND

Drochubh, drochéan.
A bad egg, a bad bird.

Beware of false faux fur labels from China manufacturers
By Sue Little

Sunday, July 01, 2007 6:00 AM EDT

A few months ago thousands of American dogs and cats died from eating tainted pet foods concocted in China, sold by American firms under popular brand name labels and purchased by trusting pet owners in the United States. We heard of a number of tragic deaths from local pets that had eaten the bad foods.

Since then we’ve learned of many other problem products manufactured in China and sold in the U.S. ranging from mouthwash contaminated with E. coli bacteria, toys made with lead paints and even dangerous peeling car tires among other items.

Now yet another fiasco from China is coming into our nation, according to the Humane Society of the United States. A 1998 winter investigation by the HSUS revealed “an epidemic of false advertising, mislabeling and lack of labeling on fur-trimmed garments being sold in the U.S. as “faux” or false fur.

“Half of all fur garments entering the U.S. come from China where large numbers of dogs, cats and raccoon dogs along with other species are killed for their fur .... As many as two million dogs and cats are killed for their fur each year in China,” stated the report.

Later, well-documented video of “barbaric mistreatment of animals killed in China each year for their fur including being skinned alive” resulted in public outrage in the U.S. It led Congress to “pass the Dog and Cat Protection Act of 2000 making it illegal to import, export or sell products containing dog or cat fur in the U.S.”

Unfortunately, fur from China’s raccoon dogs, a member of the canid family which also includes wolves, jackals, foxes, coyotes and domestic dogs, was not included in this ban.

Besides this, a loophole in the Fur Products Labeling Act of l951 “makes it easy for dog fur to slip into the U.S. undetected. While the law requires fur garments disclose the name of the psecies killed and the country of origin on all labels, “it only applies to clothing containing more than $150 worth of fur,” noted the HSUS newsletter.

In short, U.S. consumers who buy garments made in China and labeled as faux fur are probably actually purchasing products that have not only been mislabeled by the Chinese but also sheared and dyed to appear the fur is fake when it is not and has really come from cruelly killed domestic dogs and cats in China.

Fortunately in February 2007 “federal legislation to protect American consumers and animals from deception and cruelty in the fur trade was introduced. The Dog and Cat Fur Protection Enforcement Act (H.R. 891) would include raccoon dogs among the species whose fur cannot be legally sold in the U.S.

It would also close the loopholes in the labeling law by requiring all fur garments, regardless of value, be labeled to identify the species of animals killed and the country of origin.”

The HSUS urges contacting the U.S. representatives to co-sponsor H.R.891 to require all garments to be accurately labeled and to ban sale of fur from raccoon dogs. Call the congressional switchboard at (202) 224-3121 or act online at www.hsus.org/fur_labeling. To identify legislators visit www.hslf.org. I plan to do this but just to be sure I am never going to buy anything that resembles fur on a garment or toy and I am going to be diligently looking at labels’ “country of origin.”

Paws up this week to: David and Sharon Lukaszewski, dedicated rescuers of pets and horses; Darla Thomas who adopted a wonderful golden retriever mix from the local shelter about two years after her beloved golden retriever died “as the best way to honor a family member who has left this world”; Dan and Judy Haydon of Clock Repair; Pat McLucas whose little Bandit loves his twice-daily leash walks; Nell Steveson; all who are helping us build community awareness of the need for a brand new state-of-the-art animal shelter for Cleveland and Bradley County; and to Stephen Thomas, president of the Walker County, Ga., animal shelter who is working hard, as local citizens here are, to getting a bigger, better animal shelter for his county.

To reach the local animal shelter at 360 Hill St., call 479-2122. Call me with your pet and wildlife stories at 728-5414.

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