FUR SALES on EBAY

Stop allowing the sale of new and vintage fur on their site

Greetings,

I just signed the following petition addressed to: EBAY.

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Stop allowing the sale of new and vintage fur on their site

Farmed in tiny cages, clubbed to death or skinned alive - the fate of millions of Chinese animals bred for their fur
Perhaps such retailers should watch the shocking hard evidence gathered by CWI in conjunction with Swiss Animal Protection and EAST International: undercover film obtained by investigators which graphically reveals for the first time how millions of animals in typical Chinese fur farms are confined in
rows of tiny, often filthy, wire cages. Housing conditions of this kind result in high cub mortality, self mutilation and pathological behaviours. The foxes and raccoon dogs are transported under horrendous conditions to wholesale markets where they are slaughtered, skinned, sold and bought by clothing and processing companies.
In shocking sequences, animals were filmed being lifted from their cages using a 'capture pole' with a noose at the end. Helpless and wide-eyed, foxes and raccoon dogs are suspended from their necks for considerable periods of time before workers grab them by their hind legs and, using a wooden or metal club, repeatedly strike them on the head. Others are swung hard against the ground by their hind legs in an attempt to stun or immobilize them, while their cage mates, who are next in line, look on. Many are seen convulsing and trembling, unable to move away, on the ground, no doubt suffering from bone fractures, ruptured organs and internal bleeding.
Then, in perhaps the most shocking scenes of
all, workers were filmed as they skin the animals
- many still alive - by plunging a knife into the
rear of their belly whilst the animal lies on its
back or is hung by its legs from a hook. Beginning
with the hind legs, workers then wrench the
animal's skin from its body, until it peels off over
the head. Some workers first hacked off the
animal’s paws to facilitate subsequent skinning.
Workers made no attempt to ensure that animals
were dead before skinning them. As a result,
many remain fully conscious during the entire
process and start to writhe until workers again
attempt to stun or immobilize them by striking
them with the handle of a knife or by standing on
their necks. Even after their entire skin has been
stripped off, some animals remained alive for up
to ten minutes, breathing and moving their heads
© Swiss Animal Protection/East International © Swiss Animal Protection/East International
5
When the film was released alongside CWI's
report "Fun Fur - a report on the Chinese fur
industry" in early 2005 it provoked an
international outcry. The brutal footage was
circulated on the Internet and broadcast on
television in many countries. The Chinese
government and fur producers were quick to
react, first accusing investigators of having
staged these nightmarish scenes, before
blaming poor, un-educated farmers for isolated
incidents of cruelty, unrepresentative for the
industry as a whole. Worried that such
adverse publicity could damage the important
economic value of fur exports, the international
community was told that the situation had
been resolved. The British fur industry, eager
not to damage its hard fought for new hip
image, was quick to distance itself from fur
produced in China, claiming that hardly any of
it enters UK or European markets.
While China has no laws to protect captive
wild animals against even the most devastating
abuse, Britain banned fur farming in 1998
because of the unavoidable health and welfare
problems associated with farming animals for
their fur.
I AM ASKING EBAY TO STOP SELLERS FROM MAKING MONEY FROM THIS BRUTAL TRADE
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Sincerely,
Patricia Betty

[Your name]