Warning: Graphic

Please think twice about your Christmas gift purchases.
Are you contributing to Chinese animal torture?

Some of the information below has been previously posted in this venue.

When you purchase a Chinese garment, there is no indication of the origin of the animal. Is it a cat, a dog or....?

None of these animals are treated humanely because China has no protection.

Please don't support animal torture with your purchases!

When undercover investigators made their way onto Chinese fur farms, they found that many animals are still alive and struggling desperately when workers flip them onto their backs or hang them up by their legs or tails to skin them. When workers on these farms begin to cut the skin and fur from an animal's leg, the free limbs kick and writhe. Workers stomp on the necks and heads of animals who struggle too hard to allow a clean cut.

Read more: http://features.peta.org/ChineseFurFarms/#ixzz2nUTlwQCo

When the fur is finally peeled off over the animals' heads, their naked, bloody bodies are thrown onto a pile of those who have gone before them. Some are still alive, breathing in ragged gasps and blinking slowly. Some of the animals' hearts are still beating five to 10 minutes after they are skinned. One investigator recorded a skinned raccoon dog on the heap of carcasses who had enough strength to lift his bloodied head and stare into the camera.
Before they are skinned alive, animals are pulled from their cages and thrown to the ground; workers bludgeon them with metal rods or slam them on hard surfaces, causing broken bones and convulsions but not always immediate death. Animals watch helplessly as workers make their way down the row.


Undercover investigators from Swiss Animal Protection/EAST International toured fur farms in China's Hebei Province, and it quickly became clear why outsiders are banned from visiting. There are no penalties for abusing animals on fur farms in China—farmers can house and slaughter animals however they see fit. The investigators found horrors beyond their worst imaginings and concluded, "Conditions on Chinese fur farms make a mockery of the most elementary animal welfare standards. In their lives and their unspeakable deaths, these animals have been denied even the simplest acts of kindness."


On these farms, foxes, minks, rabbits, and other animals pace and shiver in outdoor wire cages, exposed to driving rain, freezing nights, and, at other times, scorching sun. Mother animals, who are driven crazy from rough handling and intense confinement and have nowhere to hide while giving birth, often kill their babies after delivering litters.


The globalization of the fur trade has made it impossible to know where fur products come from. China supplies more than half of the finished fur garments imported for sale in the United States. Even if a fur garment's label says it was made in a European country, the animals were likely raised and slaughtered elsewhere—possibly on an unregulated Chinese fur farm.

The only way to prevent such unimaginable cruelty is never to wear any fur. Take PETA's pledge to be fur-free today!

Read more: http://features.peta.org/ChineseFurFarms/#ixzz2nUU1yvTS

Think twice....

A Look Inside the Angora Rabbit Fur Industry

After watching this video, you'll never buy angora again.

The undercover footage, shot by PETA Asia, found horrific routine cruelty to angora rabbits, whose long, soft fur is often used in sweaters and accessories. The investigator filmed workers who were violently ripping the fur from the animals' sensitive skin as they screamed at the top of their lungs in pain. After this terrifying and barbaric ordeal, which the rabbits endure every three months, many of them appeared to go into shock, lying motionless inside their tiny, filthy cages, with no solid flooring or bedding, and without the vital companionship of other rabbits. After two to five years, those who have survived are hung upside down, their throats are slit, and their bodies are sold.

Rabbits who have their fur cut or sheared also suffer: During the cutting process, their front and back legs are tightly tethered—a terrifying experience for any prey animal—and the sharp cutting tools inevitably wound them as they struggle desperately to escape.

Ninety percent of angora fur comes from China, where there are no penalties for abuse of animals on farms and no standards to regulate the treatment of the animals. When you buy a sweater, hat, or other product that contains angora, the angora fur most likely originated in China, even if the finished product was assembled elsewhere.

Rabbits are gentle, socially complex, and intelligent animals with individual personalities, just like dogs and cats. In their natural habitat, rabbits live in scrupulously clean burrows and spend their time foraging for fresh, leafy food and interacting with members of their warren.

How You Can Help Rabbits

Please leave angora rabbit fur out of your wardrobe and politely urge the Chinese government to ban cruel live plucking of rabbits raised for angora fur by sending a note to China's Ambassador to the U.S., His Excellency Cui Tiankai.

SEND AN EMAIL


Please consider adding your name to the petition to Zara by clicking on this link:

Fighting for people over profits

**Update: Due to our pressure, major UK retailers Topshop and Asos have committed to stop selling Angora. Now let's get global clothing company Zara to join them!**

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Great news! Huge clothing retailer, H&M, ceased production of all its angora products last week, in response to horrific video footage released by PETA that shows rabbits screaming in pain as their fur is torn off at angora farms in China, and to 77,000-strong SumOfUs petition.

Sadly, Zara is refusing to do the same -- at the time of writing, there are still 60 angora items for sale on the Zara website.

Workers in China were secretly filmed by PETA, plucking angora rabbits of all their long, soft fur while they scream. Plucking a rabbit without causing harm takes up to two weeks of gently removing the loosened hair, but here it takes only a few, violent minutes. After this tortuous experience, which the rabbits endure every three months, many of them appeared to go into shock, lying motionless inside their tiny, filthy cages.

H&M has taken responsibility for this barbaric practice, Zara should too.

Tell Zara to stop production of its angora products immediately, and save the bunnies!
Ninety percent of angora fur comes from China, where there are no penalties for abuse of animals on farms and no standards to regulate the treatment of the animals. The reason for this cruelty comes down to profit, pure and simple. Angora has a trade value of £22 to £28 per kilogram, but the longer hair that comes from plucking, as opposed to shearing, can sell for more than double that.

The big retailers have a responsibility to tell their suppliers that they won’t accept this brutal treatment of angora rabbits. H&M have acted, saying in a statement that it will step up inspections of its sub-suppliers before selling angora again. In the meantime, customers can take back their H&M angora products for a full refund. H&M isn’t the only one -- it joins Topshop, New Look, Esprit, Asos, and C&A.

If they can act, Zara can too. But right now, its website is full of angora sweaters, gloves, hats, and scarfs. Zara thinks we don’t care where our clothes from, or how they are made. We need to prove it wrong.

Tell Zara we don’t want to see angora on its shelves. Cease production of angora products!
Topshop and Asos’ decision to stop the production of angora was a direct response to our pressure -- SumOfUs members kept the pressure up by commenting on the Topshop and Asos Facebook pages, tweeting, making campaign graphics, and writing personal letters -- all leading to a huge victory for both consumers and bunnies! Let’s do it again.

ByHeba Kanso CBS News November 20, 2013, 4: 51 PM

PETA releases video of angora rabbit investigation in China

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals released graphic video Tuesday from its undercover investigation into angora farms in China.

 

Over the course of four months the organization went to nine different farms.

 

In the video, the rabbits' high-pitched screams can be heard as farmers rip out their wool until the animal is bald. The rabbits are then thrown back into their cage and appear to be stunned and in shock.

 

PETA says the farmers repeat this process every 70-75 days and about 60 percent of rabbits that are tormented this way die after one to two years.

 

"This angora fur is highly prized. And the farmers rip it out this way because they can get a higher price by selling the entire length of the fur rather than just sheering it," said Kathy Guillermo, Senior Vice President of PETA.

 

Angora rabbit on Chinese farm is having its wool ripped out to collect fibers for Angora clothing

PETA

In the United States, American angora breeders said they disagree with the methods these farmers use."It makes me want to go vomit. I mean that was pretty rough," said Melissa Deitrich after watching PETA's video.

 

Deitrich is an angora breeder and member of the National Angora Rabbit Breeders Club (NARBC). She says she uses the gentle and painless methods of plucking, sheering and cutting her rabbits.

 

Even though breeders like Deitrich use humane practices for gather her rabbit's wool, the United States angora production is incredibly small compared to China.

 

PETA says around 90 percent of the world's angora comes from China, which makes it the largest producer.

 

According to the International Wool Textile Organization (IWTO), in 2012, 4,700 tons of unwashed angora wool was produced around the world.

 

"If shoppers are out looking for sweaters, hats or scarves this holiday shopping season and they see an angora item, chances are that angora fur came from China," said Guillermo.

 

The soft fiber is used as an element in sweaters and other knitwear found at stores all over America.

 

CBSNews.com reached out to several retail companies that carry angora, but none commented.

 

Some companies like H&M have policies stating they will only use angora from humane sources.

 

There are no animal rights laws in China that protect these rabbits in this virtually under-investigated world.

 

PETA wants consumers to look beyond the clothing.

 

"[Angora clothing] began as a living being on a farm in China most likely. And I don't think any consumers, most of whom are compassionate I believe, would like to have any part of that," said Guillermo.