Mr.+Mrs. Bush: Pls. Help to Stop Cruelty in China
Dear Mrs. Bush,
dear President and Vice President,
I write to implore you to please speak to Mrs. Hu Jintao regarding the horrific animal cruelty in China.
China is the world's largest exporter of fur. Its lack of animal welfare standards means that millions of animals every year are beaten, clubbed, skinned alive and slaughtered for their fur. It is estimated that China produces more than 1.5 million fox pelts a year and approximately the same number of raccoon dog pelts. Other species 'produced' in China include mink, as well as domestic dogs and cats.
Dog and cat fur items are routinely mislabled under fictitious names so that consumers do not know that the fur they are purchasing has come from what may very well once have been someone's pet. For example, dog and cat fur has been identified under labels such as Gae-wolf, Sobaki, Asian Jackal, Wildcat, Goyangi, Katzenfelle. This deception constitutes fraud and is an unacceptable trade practice from China or any other country.
Fur produced in China does not come from animals who are simply killed for their fur. They are brutalized first. Investigators from domestic and international welfare organizations have documented a range of atrocious practices common in Chinese fur markets. A significant number of animals are still alive when the skinning process begins—starting with a knife at the rear of the belly and ending with the fur being pulled over the animal's head. After the skin is removed, animals are thrown into piles of carcasses. However, investigators have documented that many of these animals are still breathing, have a heartbeat, and continue moving and blinking for between five to ten minutes after their skin had been ripped from their bodies.
The Chinese government has now acknowledged the barbarous acts of cruelty that are routinely perpetrated against animals in China and has pledged to improve conditions for these animals. This is an important first step. However, until a comprehensive set of animal welfare laws are enacted and enforced, the animals of China will continue to suffer on a scope and to a degree that is unparalleled. Until China takes this assault on animals seriously and enacts robust animal protection laws, I will boycott all Chinese goods and travel.
In China today dogs and cats, many of them once somebody's pet, are being slaughtered for their fur. In China today fur bearing animals such as raccoons, fox and rabbits are being skinned alive. In China today bears who spend their lives confined to small cages are screaming in pain as bile is extracted from their gall bladders.
These are only a few examples of the type of misery endured daily by China's magnificent animals. In a land with no laws, anything is possible, and when anything is possible, every horror imaginable occurs. Take for example the now infamous videos of the two Chinese businesswomen crushing small kittens to death with their stiletto and boot heels. These and other forms of animal abuse cast a dark shadow across China and its citizens.
Animal cruelty exists in all nations. What separates China is its acceptance of barbarity, torture and gruesome violence against its weakest and most innocent members. It is time for China to recognize non-human animals as sentient, living beings that deserve certain rights of their own. It is time for China to put an end to their nightmare. At a minimum, we ask you to urge China to:
- Ban the live skinning of any animal;
- Ban the trade in dog and cat fur;
- Ban the trade in dog and cat meat;
- Ban the trade in bear bile;
- Ban all forms of cruelty to animals.
- Open up the fur farms for investigation
Please urge China to act now on its recent pledge to improve animal welfare and immediately implement the proposed protection laws. The world is watching. This is an important opportunity for China to restore its reputation in the international community and demonstrate that it shares the values of other modern nations, or even that it can set the values of a modern world and lead other nations into the future.
With the utmost gratitude for your help, yours truly,
