cats and dogs for toys?

[pussnboots]

I watched the news tonight on ITV 1 and there was a film about cats and dogs being bred in China just for their skns to make novelty toys and such. These animals where kept in appalling conditions and then slaughtered and left to bleed to death. One poor dog was wagging its tail as the man approached it, it had its throat cut and was left to bleed to death. These so called toys are sold in this country on markets and by street traders. Please do not buy any of these things. Why are some cultures so barbaric?

[B00]

Did it mention the name of the company which makes them? The problem I'd personally have is knowing which cuddly soft toy NOT to buy.

I can't watch things like this, i find them too distressing and I think of nothing else for days afterwards. However I'm saddened to say that this kind of thing doesn't surprise me. Whilst we ourselves (the UK in general) are fairly hypocritical towards animal welfare, Asian countries do not see animals/ pets in the same light as we do, and genuinely don't see what they're doing as wrong.

[pussnboots]

There was no mention of any particular company, I wish now I hadn't seen it as I can't get the pictures out of my mind. I usually can't watch anything that involves animals or children being mistreated.

[divegirl]

Surely you don't need to know the company name! If the toy is covered in REAL animal fur don't but it!!!!

[leelapops]

This is horrific, but as has been said, not surprising. Other countries' attitudes towards animals we would consider domestic pets are entirely different.

It's usually easy to tell synthetic fur apart from real fur on soft toys, as it looks and feels different. However, it's definitely wise to be extra careful.

pussnboots and BOO, I tend not to watch, unless I am feeling particularly strong, because otherwise it just breaks my heart.

What can be done?

Lisa x

[pussnboots]

Well according to the customs and excise they are stopping all imports of these toys coming into Britian, but I'll bet they find their way in by the back door. Have you ever seen those stuffed cats curled up in baskets made to look like real cats, well they are an example.

[jules77]

since seeing the market in China where they sell dogs and cats for food, and starting the petition - (I have sent this to Downing Street)
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/AnimalsinCh ina/
I check everything and if it is made in China, I dont buy it. When you start looking at things it is surprising that so many things we buy on a day to day basis are made there, but if we all stopped buying them, something may be done about it.

[sherlockian]

Why are some cultures so barbaric? And believe it or not they're not just in China. How about those terrible English people, who breed pigs intensively in dark sheds in crates so they can't lie down, tear calves and lambs from their mothers to take to slaughter, or rear chickens crammed in cages laying eggs until they die of exhaustion? Perhaps we should look closer to home before we start criticising other cultures (and don't forget, China has a "poverty cuisine" -- the population is so large they have to eat anything they can - the fur/skins are a by-product - and why is eating a dog or cat any worse than eating a pig or a cow?).

[jules77]

sherlockian - because dogs and cats are domesticated animals and as a whole, our meat market is monitored by Defra, and animals treated humanely. I started the petition re the dogs and cats in China as I felt I had to try to do something about it, if you know of animals being kept in poor conditions, you should also do something about it. Regarding battery hens, I only buy free range eggs, and if we all did the same, the battery hen market would stop.

[sherlockian]

jules77 - just because some countries have domesticated dogs and cats doesn't mean it's "wrong" to eat them, it's this sort of double standards and hypocrisy which pulls many animal rights arguments to pieces. Just because something is fluffy and cuddly doesn't make it inedible!

And just because DEFRA monitors the meat market doesn't mean animals are treated any more humanely in this country - unless of course you count my previous comments about pigs in the dark in crates, and chickens crammed in cages as humane?

Please don't get me wrong, I completely agree with you, and we must ALL do something about it, but pacifiying consciences by signing petitions which invariably get ignored or are powerless don't really change things.
The most effective solution as you say is to stop buying products that encourage this market. But my real point is that people who read this thread and decide not to buy a toy made of cat fur must also look at their weekly grocery shop and think a little more about the way their food has been produced too!