Dateline Story:  Domestic Dog and Cat Fur Trade
The following Dateline story is a shocking expose by the Humane Society. They have discovered the awful secret behind cheaper imported fur; it may in fact be Fido or Fluffy.  Be an informed consumer and do not support such practices.

MSN/Date Line (http://www.msnbc.com/news/223630.asp?cp1=1)

Dateline investigation: Victims of fashion? The global trade of dog and cat fur
Dec. 15 —  Many of us have pets we love. They’re part of our families — especially our dogs or cats, individuals with their own beloved characters and quirks. Still we know that some cultures don’t value domestic dogs and cats the way we do. An investigation conducted by the Humane Society of the United States poses some startling allegations of a secret fur trade — charging that some domestic dogs and cats may be killed for their fur.
 
  RICK SWAIN IS THE chief investigator for the Humane Society, an organization dedicated to the protection of animals. He and German journalist and animal rights activist Manfred Karremann went undercover in China, Thailand and the Philippines for 18 months. They went from factory to factory to determine whether animals we consider pets were being turned into pelts. They shot undercover video showing people torturing the animals and admitting to using their fur for garments.
Note: Some of the video and photos on the Humane Society Web site are graphic and disturbing.
    Special Investigation
     
 
  Full report of the Humane Society investigation, “The Trail of Trust: The Global Trade of Dog and Cat Fur.” 
Read the findings!
 
 
       Swain says that when he started his investigation, he thought he’d perhaps find a small, black market trade overseas in dog and cat furs. He says he never imagined he’d find what he says is a multi-million dollar industry. “You walk into a warehouse with hundreds of thousands of dog pelts,” he says. “I didn’t believe it until I saw that. But I was there and I saw it. I felt it. I touched it.”
       Swain and the Humane Society are anti-fur, and they admittedly timed the release of their investigation to discourage holiday season fur sales. “Is that going to influence the results of the investigation? Absolutely not,” says Swain. “I spent 25 years in law enforcement developing the reputation I have. And I’m not going to sacrifice it for anything.”
       How can Swain be so sure? He says Chinese government and fur factory officials told him. Where do these furs end up? He says the Chinese told him that, too.
       Acting under the guise of a vice president for a fictitious company interested in importing furs to the United States, Swain was granted extensive access to government-run fur facilities in China. Living with the constant threat of being discovered, Swain and his team of investigators made four trips to China between January 1997 and August 1998, and pushed their hosts to show them everything at the government-run fur facilities.
       GRAY HOUSE CAT OR YELLOW?
‘The type of fur specified on the label is Mongolian dog fur. Our humane society experts tell me there is no such animal as a Mongolian dog.’
— RICK SWAIN
Humane Society investigator		        Describing his first visit to a manufacturer, Swain says “I walked into his showroom and I said ‘what is this?’ He said, ‘well, that’s gray house cat, this is yellow house cat. Those are the two kinds of cats we deal in.”’
       Swain says he quickly learned a trade secret from the Chinese — once a cat pelt is treated and dyed, even the experts have trouble telling which member of the animal kingdom grew it. He says he learned on his trip to China that fur merchants there have made up a number of fake names for dog and cat products so they can sell them easily all over the world. Swain points out that he was accompanied by a government minister during factory visits, leading him to believe the Chinese government is fully aware of how the dog and cat fur business works.
       In a letter to “Dateline” the Chinese embassy disputed the Humane Society’s allegations saying that “it is natural for people to buy or sell cats and dogs in local markets. But this trade of cats and dogs has nothing to do with the fur industry. Therefore, the allegation ... is not in conformity with the real situation.”
       In a satellite interview from Germany, Manfred Karremann, the man who shot much of the video and licensed it to “Dateline,” said the tape indeed shows the real situation. “I myself can be sure for what I took on pictures that everything is ethically clean,” he says.
       Karreman said he had to ditch the government escorts and find the slaughter himself. And he says that everything he shot was authentic — that he would never harm an animal just to get a picture.
       In China, it is perfectly legal to kill dogs and cats, but even in some other countries where the practice is illegal Kerreman says he found domestic animals being killed for their fur.
       NOT JUST IN CHINA
       Karrenamn and the Humane Society investigators say they discovered similar businesses exist in the Philippines and in Thailand, where they gathered more evidence of cruelty.
       A spokesman for the Phillipine embassy said he was shocked by the Humane Society findings about the illegal killing of cats for fur in his country. The Humane Society says it will provide details of its investigation to the Phillipine government.
       Perhaps the biggest shock of all, Swain says, came just last month when he says he discovered pet fur wasn’t just being offered in products in China and Eastern Europe. “Most of the full-length garments, the shorter jackets, most of those are ending up in Eastern Bloc countries, Russia, places like that,” he says. “But the fur trim, that’s any place and it’s every place.”
       In the past month, Humane Society investigators did a limited amount of shopping in New York, New Jersey and Maryland. They randomly checked in a variety of clothing stores and gift shops to see if they could spot items they suspected of containing dog or cat fur. While they are still conducting tests, they have not found any items containing cat fur.
       But when it came to dog fur, they found what they were looking for. They found it on a fur-trimmed, hooded, men’s snorkel parka from the Burlington Coat factory. “I bought a parka at Burlington Coat Factories less than two weeks ago, which has fur trim around the hood. The type of fur specified on the label is Mongolian dog fur,” says Swain. “Our Humane Society experts tell me there is no such animal as a Mongolian dog.”
       He says the Humane Society believes the trim is dog fur because it sent a sample of it to be DNA-tested at AG-GEN Labs in Davis, California. It tested positive for canine.
       “Dateline” questioned Burlington Coat Factories about why it would sell such merchandise and the company’s attorney responded, “We were shocked. We pulled all these coats from our stores. We ordered coyote, got dog. We didn’t know.” He added that no one had checked the labels.
       The chain has recalled the parka. “We were outraged that a substitution was made and that the purchase order actually called for coyote trim and it was something else,” company spokesman Ric Bramble told The Associated Press.
       There are animal cruelty laws in the United States that would prevent dogs or cats from being slaughtered for their fur. But there are no federal laws preventing anyone from importing dog or cat fur to the United States. And if that imported item costs less than $150, the importer doesn’t even have to reveal what it’s made of.
       And because it’s perfectly legal to import dog and cat fur into the U.S. and because it is cheap compared to other furs, the Humane Society fears U.S. stores are unwittingly taking part in the sale of the fur of cats and dogs.
       HOW CAN YOU TELL?
       There’s no sure-fire way for the average consumer to know, but there are some general things to keep in mind. If you’re concerned about your purchasing items with domestic dog or cat fur, the Humane Society suggests the following:
* Faux fur. Even buying synthetic fur may not fully ensure a fur-free garment. When animal fur is sheared and dyed, it can appear to be synthetic. Make sure the faux fur is really fake by looking for labels that indicate man-made materials. Look for labels that list synthetic fabrics.
* Be aware that, according to the Federal Trade Commission, any imported fur or leather product under $150 does not require a label.
* Be a vocal consumer. Ask lots of questions of your retailer about their products and make sure they know what their merchandise is made from. If you are not satisfied with the answers, find a different retailer. Demand a full refund if you do discover the product is made from domestic dog or cat fur.