| 13
May, 2005
SUPPLEMENTARY
RELEASE
LAUNCESTON
SILVER FOX FUR PROTEST
STORE OWNER DENIES SELLING CHINESE FUR – YET INVESTIGATOR FINDS
STORE FULL OF IT!
The owner of
the Silver Fox, a fur store in Launceston, recently denied selling Chinese
fur when challenged, say animal activists.
Members of Against Animal Cruelty
Tasmania have been targeting the outlet as part of a commitment to the
International Anti-Fur Coalition, a movement which denounces the Chinese
fur industry for the extreme cruelty involved. Activists from all over
the State will be present at a protest there on Saturday at 11.00a.m.
On Friday, an activist was
able to enter the store, and examine the stock it contained, and found
that there was a huge majority of fur from China, which supplies over
90% of the world’s fur trade.
Anti-fur campaign co-ordinator
Liz Hardy is triumphant.
“Yesterday, one of
our most committed activists went into the Silver Fox, and found that
most of the fur for sale there is from China – after the owner
hotly denied this just weeks ago”, she said. “But we knew
it wasn’t true.
“We have made very
clear to these people the obscene cruelty that is endemic in the Chinese
fur industry, with animals farmed and slaughtered under unspeakable
conditions”, Ms Hardy continued.
“Her response to that
was simply to call the police. Clearly, people in the fur industry as
a whole have absolutely no conscience, knowing what they do and continuing
to provide a market for this obscenity”.
Undercover investigators from
international groups have filmed conditions on fur farms and in markets
in China, and even those hardened by bitter experience were sickened by
what they saw, including animals crammed into tiny cages, transported
hundreds of miles to markets, dropped from high trucks smashing bones,
and skinning animals alive in China is simply routine. The importation
of dog and cat fur is banned in Australia, but because there is no “truth
in labelling” legislation in China, it is often called exotic names.
Other animals who suffer so terribly include raccoon dogs and rabbits.
In other countries, methods of slaughter include anal electrocution and
garrotting.
“There is nothing
cool about wearing the skins of tortured animals”, said Ms Hardy.
It is obacene, and farming and slaughtering animals for their beautiful
coats must be stopped. We urge everyone to ask the tough questions about
any fur, or fur-trimmed items they see”.
For further information,
please contact:
Elizabeth, Anti-fur Campaign Co-ordinator
Tel : 0409 564 067
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