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Cat & Dog Fur Ban

December 2003

European Parliament Written Declaration

In Dec 2003, the European Parliament approved a ban by a large majority, to the import, export, sale and production of cat & dog fur. Not only did 346 sign a written declaration calling upon the EU, but a majority of the EU Council of Agriculture Ministers also called for this ban to be implemented. Despite this and the growing public outcry to ban this horrific trade, the European Commission still failed to take action. Strong resistance was encountered by the Commissioner for Consumer Affairs at that time. David Byrne advised that there could be no legal basis for an EU wide ban on cat & dog fur. (As though that would stop this campaign team who were soon to have a fierce new member, Heather Mills).

The EU Commission claimed it had no authority under EU law to implement a ban. This opinion was challenged by the legal opinion issued by Matrix Chambers in the UK in May 2004 which contradicted these EU commission claims indicating that there was a legal basis under the EU treaty law to ban this trade in fur and furthermore that it was unlikely to cause a trade issue with World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules. The Commission did not respond to MEP Struan Stevenson’s legal challenge and completely ignored his submission.

Despite meetings with high-ranking Chinese diplomats both in the US and in China, the Chinese government denied that this trade went on. They rejected this despite ample still photographs, videos, reports and other clear evidence.

EU consumers were still at great risk of unwittingly purchasing many consumer goods containing dog and cat fur. It had been found in ski boots and glove lining, trims on parkas, full coats, sleeping cat figurines, as hair bows (dyed to look like faux fur) and a host of other items, including some dog chew toys! New labelling laws would not be sufficient since Chinese merchants proved skillful in making up names for the fur and copying well-known labels.

In an undercover investigation in Belgium, Humane Society International taped a dealer bragging that while most of his furs came from China, some might actually come from dogs and cats that were stray, lost or even farmed in Belgium. When this aired in February 2004 it caused worldwide strong reactions.