Activists Cheer Proposed Animal Fur Ban

A street vendor peddles fur on the streets of Beijing, China Tuesday Nov. 21, 2006. The European Union proposed a ban Monday on the sale and import of dog and cat fur in all 25 member nations, saying it has been found in some clothing, toys and other items on sale in Europe. Animal rights activists say Chinese cat and dog fur is mainly used for lining gloves, as trim on boots, coats and other clothing or to cover animal figurines. Sometimes, traders say, it is dyed and passed off as other types of more expensive fur. (AP Photo/Elizabeth Dalziel) (Elizabeth Dalziel - AP)

BEIJING -- Chinese animal rights activists welcomed a proposed European Union ban on imports of dog and cat fur, saying Tuesday it would pressure the Beijing government to enact better legal protections for animals, while the government denied torture and cruelty are widespread.

The European Union proposed the ban Monday in all 25 member nations, saying cats and dogs were being kept in cages and slaughtered in cruel conditions for their fur.

Humane Society International estimates 2 million cats and dogs are killed for fur each year, with an estimated 5,400 killed in China each day. A ban on dog and cat fur has been in place in the United States since 2000, but activists complain that labeling is not required on items costing less than $150, so dog and cat fur can be used without consumers' knowledge.

However, an attorney with the Federal Trade Commission, Connie Vecellio, said there was no loophole. "It is illegal to import dog or cat fur products into this country," she said.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu insisted Tuesday the country was increasingly aware of animal rights and said the "torture and cruel killing of cats and dogs was by no means a universal phenomenon in China."

"In recent years, our awareness of protecting animals has been on the rise, especially along with the economic and social development in China and the rise of living standards," Jiang said when asked about the proposed ban at a press briefing.

But Chinese animal rights campaigners said abuse was widespread. Merchants beat cats and dogs to death and even flay them alive for their skins, said Zhang Dan, vice chairman for the China Small Animal Protection Association.

She welcomed the proposed EU ban, saying "it's a very important signal to the Chinese government and there's no way they can't notice it."

"Many animal rights volunteers in China are trying to spread the news of what's happening here and I hope people in the West will notice," she said.

To back his call for an EU ban, Markos Kyprianou, the European Commission's consumer protection commissioner, showed gruesome videos Monday of dogs being bludgeoned or cut open to bleed to death, and cats in cages being strangled by wire nooses.

Zhang said she had seen similar videos, including footage of a market in southern China where live cats were thrown into boiling water to kill them and prepare them for skinning.

Activists say cat and dog fur is mainly used for lining gloves, as trim on boots and coats, as well as on keys chains and toys.