Please don't purchase clothing with animal products coming from China!
Big news! Zara has suspended all orders for products
containing angora wool until each supplier has been inspected.
Almost 300,000 members of the SumOfUs.org
community signed the petition to Zara, urging it to respond to horrific video
footage released by PETA that shows angora rabbits being tortured for their fur.
Thousands of you commented on the Zara Facebook page; 330 of you joined our Super Bunny Warrior Team; and some of you were
brave enough to talk to Zara staff in-store. It worked!
It’s exciting to see the impact our
community is having on our retailers. Will you join me in celebrating the good news
by sharing the image below with your friends on Facebook?
Incredible news! Over 277,000 of you have signed the petition
urging ZARA to take a stand against animal abuse, and stop the sourcing and
production of angora items. This follows an absolutely brilliant week
where even more UK retailers took action -- Asos, Topshop, Whistles, Next and
Primark have all recently halted the production of angora. And SumOfUs members have attracted a tidal
wave of press attention, from the Los Angeles Times to the Huffington
Post.
Unfortunately, our petition to ZARA seems
to be falling on deaf ears. It is
still refusing to take action, it is still selling angora, and it continues to
profit from the suffering of angora rabbits.
A spokesperson for Inditex (the company
that owns Zara) said in a statement:
“We would like to point out that Zara is not a
direct buyer of angora.. which [is] sourced by our ready to wear garments
suppliers; consequently, we do not have direct commercial relations with the
companies that carry out the production of those raw materials.”
Essentially, ZARA is saying it does not carry
out inspections of its angora suppliers and the farms they source
from.
This isn’t good enough. We need to let ZARA
know that we won’t accept the cruel treatment of angora rabbits for profit.
We need to ramp up the pressure now so
that it hears us.
You can also call ZARA's headquarters
at +44 0207 851 4300 (UK) or +1 212 355 1415 (US) to demand that it stops the
production of angora items.
Finally, you can email ZARA's PR team
at comunicacion@inditex.com and
let them know that we won’t accept the torture of angora rabbits.
The SumOfUs.org community has been
instrumental to the progress we're making.
Thank you for keeping up the fight,
Hanna, Johnny, Paul, Kaytee and the team at
SumOfUs.org
P.S. If you can, send us a photo of you delivering the letter to reportback@sumofus.org. Thank
you!
***********
More information:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
**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!**
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 NewsNovember 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.
"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.
