cats and dogs brutally killed and eaten in china

boardgirl

Italy has imported hundreds of thousands of dog pelts from Romania
according to news reports. (The Guardian [London], Dec. 15, 1994)
In February 2003, Humane Society International investigators working
undercover in Belgium found cat fur openly and easily available in
three shops and wholesale houses in three towns. One seller claimed
cats were being bred on cat farms within Belgium as well as being
“gathered” from “institutes”. A second seller claimed the skins came
from Eastern Europe and a third said it came from China. Sellers could
not disavow that some of the animals killed might be lost pets. In
Belgium, the cat fur on sale is often used as “Rheumadecke” blankets
and other items made of cat fur which dealers claim helps relieve
arthritis and other rheumatic complaints. Three sets of separate
university laboratory microscopic tests indicated that the samples
closely resembled domestic cat fur. The sale of cat fur is not illegal
in Belgium.

THE CAT FUR TRADE
2003 - 2005, S Hartwell
In May 2003, BBC News reported that cats were being farmed for their
skins in the European Union in spite of assertions from EU officials
that there is no cat or dog farming inside the EU. Hundreds of
thousands of cat and dog skins are traded in Europe each year and
since the US banned the trade of cat and dog skin in 2001, the
European market has expanded. A Belgian furrier appeared on video
displaying a fur blanket apparently made from cats farmed in Belgium.
He claimed that stray cats and dogs in the area were rounded up and
skinned. What horrified pet owners was the likelihood of family pets
being rounded up or even stolen for the pet fur trade.
Investigators found significant levels of imports of dog and cat fur
to Germany, Italy and France with China being the main exporter of pet
fur. Other exporters of pet fur include Thailand, Korea and the
Philippines. Scandinavia, Australia and, surprisingly, Britain are
also cited as suppliers of cat fur.

boardgirl

CAT FUR AND CAT THEFT
The tales of cats being stolen for fur are not a recent phenomenon. Back in the 1970s a popular children's book was "The Hunting of Wilberforce Pike" featuring a cat thief stealing pets and strays for their fur. It has long been believed that a cat fur trade exists in Britain, possibly supplying continental markets.
Since 1983, a charity called Petwatch mounted intensive investigations into the problem of vanishing cats. They found that the patterns of disappearances were strongly indicative of organised cat theft. Certain breeds or colours of cats vanish in considerable numbers from small areas in a short time frame. The numbers are such that coincidence can be discounted. For example in Luton, England, 7 cats vanished from a single street in one afternoon while 21 cats vanished from a nearby village and 200 cats vanished over a 3 month period. Theft black spots were areas well lit at night.
Over many years in the UK there have been reports of skinned cat carcasses being found and of cats vanishing "by colour". During the 1990s in Chelmsford, Essex, there were waves of cat disappearances characterised by the fact that the disappearing cats are all one colour. One month black cats have vanish en masse. A few months later most of the tabby cats in one housing development have vanished. They vanished either late at night or very early in the morning when let out to do their business in the garden. In some cases, attempted thefts have been witnessed or thwarted by the owners.
In 1995, cat owners in Clevedon, Somerset, England were advised to keep cats indoors, after around 100 cats, nearly all being black cats, were reported stolen over the previous twelve months. In March 1995, ten disappeared in a single day. It was believed that they were stolen for their pelts, which are sold abroad or passed off as rabbit.
According to a 1985 National Petwatch survey, the British Fur Trade Association use only cat skins from legal sources. The Fur Trade Association had previously stated that cat skins were not used at all. At various times, the Fur Trade Association have previously offered rewards of up to £3000 to anyone who can prove beyond doubt a connection between vanishing cats and the fur trade. Unfortunately, by the time prepared cat skins reach the legitimate fur trade, any identifying material will have been removed, including microchips (under skin) and tattoos (on ears). Modern DNA techniques might identify a pelt as previously being a person's cherished cat provided that the pet's DNA is available (e.g. tissue biopsy).
Some pet lovers might be surprised at what sources are considered legal. Imported farmed fur is one legal source. Other legal sources may include pelts taken from the bodies of pets destroyed at vets, animal shelters and dead animals picked up at the roadside by local cleansing departments. Admittedly rare, it is apparently legal for these to be sold to skin merchants. During the 1980s, a British tabloid newspaper carried reports about UK veterinarians who passed cats and dogs presented for euthanasia to laboratories.
There will always be dealers willing to buy pelts and/or carcasses in tens of thousands (often bales of fur sold by weight) on a 'no questions asked' basis. These pelts will have come from one of the above sources or from stolen cats. According to the reports, cat skins may be processed by London furriers or the carcasses may be sold directly to foreign buyers. Manufacturers abroad admit that the best suppliers of cat pelts are Scandinavia, Australia (as part of feral cat extermination programs) and Britain.
From time to time, quantities of skinned cat bodies or heads and paws have been discovered. During the mid 1980s, I spoke with an Essex policeman who claimed to have found skinned cat bodies in dustbin bags. Veterinary/taxidermy waste is incinerated or, more rarely, rendered. The fact that the carcass is discarded gives a very convincing picture of what is going on.
In 1992, a spokesman for the Fur Education Council (the propaganda arm of the British fur trade) said that there had never been any evidence to suggest that animals were being taken for their fur. In other words, the existence of theft is neither denied or acknowledged, but there is no evidence to link the Fur Trade Association to suspicious disappearances of cats. Any pelts could simply be mixed in with legally obtained pelts and any accompanying documents can be falsified so that pelts from stolen cats are 'laundered' like money among pelts from legal sources.
Even the ongoing problem of missing or stolen cats seems not to be taken seriously in Britain. While major animal rescue organisations claim that vanished cats have simply strayed or killed by traffic, there have been witness reports of attempted cat thefts.
Where disproportionate numbers of certain coloured cats vanish while others do not, it indicates that certain colours are targeted. It is true that black and tabby are common colours and that it is statistically likely that more of these will be reported missing (i.e. simply because there are more of them around). However, it is most unlikely that all the black cats in one small area (a few streets) will go walkabout within 48 hours while all the other coloured cats stay at home. This is stretching coincidence too far.
In a few cases, there have been witnesses. I personally found one case where a Springfield, Chelmsford resident gave chase after an attempt to snatch her cat from her garden. In another case the owner witnessed her tabby cat escaping from a small van. People have been seen enticing cats towards vehicles; in Chelmsford, there were once several reports of youngsters collecting cats and taking them to a white van. Although dismissed as an urban legend, it was taken seriously enough that warning notices were placed on vet and pet shop notice-boards.
In areas where cats are "vanishing by colours" suggests that they were indeed being taken for their pelts. That the fur trade in Europe is thriving and growing causes greater suspicion that the fur from a missing pet's back may now be adorning someone else's back.

boardgirl

An awful lot of pounds accross western Europe sell on their cats and dogs in 'bulk' to chinese companies-this is not a myth its a FACT..

Where have I singled out UK and Ireland? Also bolding the word fact wasn't intended to come accross as shouting, Its intended use was to discourage people from labelling this an urban myth as there is a considerable level of evidence to the contrary. I regret that though as I didnt take the possibility of you taking it up like that into consideration when I posted, sorry.