Cat and Dog Fur Trim
Voice for Animals is against the use of any animal for fur. However, the dog and cat fur issue has strongly captured attention in both the US and in Canada. Every year, around Valentine's Day, Edmonton and other cities across Canada hold a fur protest to raise awareness about this issue.
Most people are unaware that each year over 2 million dogs and cats, sometimes former pets, are brutally slaughtered for the fur trade, mostly in China, Taiwan and the Philippines. Undercover investigations have revealed that cat and dog skins are used to make trim for a variety of products which are shipped all over the world, including Canada.
The investigations have also revealed that the animals are kept in horrendous conditions, such as in unsanitary, cold, cramped and damp cages. Some were beaten, stabbed or strangled before being brutally butchered; some have been skinned alive. Consumers are unaware of this brutal cruelty because the fur-trimmed clothing (including, jackets, hats and gloves), toys, figurines and novelty items they purchase may be trimmed, dyed and processed to look like faux fur; many have also been deliberately mislabeled as “rabbit” or “fox” or other species.
The United States, Australia and the European Union have banned this cruelty. Incredibly, Canada has not enacted legislation banning the import and sale of cat and dog fur; it currently remains legal to import and sell cat and dog fur here! As well, Canada has no legislation that would make the labeling of fur products mandatory. The Canadian Textile and Labelling Act does not require that animal pelts or hides be labeled, so consumers are being deceived about the fur products they buy! Help stop this horrible cruelty and deception.
1. Support Bill C-296 which, if passed, will ban the import and sale of cat and dog fur and will make the labeling of fur products mandatory in Canada.
Download, print and help collect signatures for The Associations for the Protection of Fur-Bearing Animals’ petition (www.furbearerdefenders.com) to ban the import and sale of all cat and dog fur in Canada and to ensure that all fur products have a label indicating species of origin.
2. Contact your local Member of Parliament and the Prime Minister.
3. Help raise awareness about this issue by ordering and distributing the leaflet: Could you be wearing dog or cat fur? from www.furbeardefenders.com to local junior/high schools, colleges, universities and organizations.
4. Expose the brutality of the fur industry by writing letters to the editor. As well, post links to our website and to
www.furbeardefenders.com on your Facebook page and on other social media.
5. Obtain permission to set up aninformation table/booth at an event. Have leaflets, petitions and other information on it for distribution. Purchase and show the video “Silent Screams” at the event.
6. No animal should be butchered for
their fur. Say NO! to all fur and fur trim products!
Fur Overview
In 1987, Edmonton animal rights activists decided something had to be done about the cruel fur industry. At that time, sales of fur were high and wearing furs was considered prestigious by many. After years of picketing along "fur row" - Jasper Ave. between 103 and 104 St., our efforts started to show results.
The following chart shows the decline in the fur industry in Edmonton since 1988.
Date No. of Retail Fur Stores No. Wholesale & Manuf.
1988 18 9
1991 17 10
1994 13 6
1997 9 6
2000 7 4
2004 3 1
2008 2 1
2013 2 0
The federal government has been very supportive of the fur industry in Canada there have been huge subsidies to the industry paid for by Canadian taxpayers. Attempts to get legislation to protect fur bearing animals have proved futile.
We are therefore focusing on educating the public about the cruelty of the fur industry. By showing pictures of the suffering that both trapped and farmed animals endure and appealing to people’s sense of compassion, we hope to put an end to this industry.
Our current campaign against the fur industry is called “Before and After”. We want to impress on people that the animals used in the making of fur coats and fur trim are beautiful, sentient creatures that literally have their skin ripped off their back.
Before and After:
Traps:
The three most common types of traps are:
1. Steel-jaw leg hold traps
2. Conibear or body gripping traps
3. Spring trap
Fur Facts:
Trapping - did you know:
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Steel-jaw leg hold traps cause excruciating pain, crushing the leg of the animal and often tearing flesh and breaking bones
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Trapped animals suffer in traps for hours or even days
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They endure pain, hunger, thirst and exposure to the elements
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The trapper returns to kill them by crushing their neck or chest or bludgeoning them to death
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One in four animals caught in a leg hold trap will chew off their limb to escapeFor every animal trapped for its fur another 4 "trash" animals are caught and killed
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A coat made from a trapped animal uses 3 times as much energy to produce as a synthetic fur coat
Farming - did you know:
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Animals spend their entire lives confined to tiny, filthy cages
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The animals are driven to many kinds of abnormal behaviour such as frenetic, repetitive movements, cannibalism and self-mutilation
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They are killed by anal or vaginal electrocution, neck snapping and gassing, often with inappropriate gas that doesn't always kill the animal and it is skinned while still alive
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A factory farmed fur coat takes 15 times as much energy to produce as a synthetic fur coat
