Dominion Over All His Creation
October 4, 2011 11:01 AM Subscribe
A video from a 2004 investigation of Chinese fur farms by Swiss Animal Protection / EAST International has been making the rounds today. It shows racoon dogs, a member of the biological family including dogs and wolves, being kept in inhumane conditions and then brutally slaughtered, literally skinned alive from the feet first. The animals often remain conscious and dying after being skinned. This fur then finds its way into US products at major retailers, including mislabeled "faux fur"
A newspaper article from the time reports the Hong Kong Fur Federation as saying that "items produced locally are for domestic use" and that "the key to improving animal welfare is to allow access of local fur products to the international market and improve the livelihood of fur farmers"
It appears they have succeeded, because the Humane Society filed a lawsuit in April 2008 "alleging at least 20 retailers in the U.S. have been mislabeling raccoon dog fur. They assert 70% of fur garments they tested were raccoon dog but were mislabeled as faux fur, coyote, rabbit, or other animals", for example "In December 2008, Lord & Taylor sold jackets labeled as 'polyester' fur at its retail store in Kensington, Md. Testing found that this purportedly faux fur garment was actually made from real raccoon dog and rabbit."
So far Saks and Lord & Taylor have settled
The video itself is not safe for work or your soul. It may be the worst thing I've ever seen, and it can't be unseen. With that warning: click here to watch
A newspaper article from the time reports the Hong Kong Fur Federation as saying that "items produced locally are for domestic use" and that "the key to improving animal welfare is to allow access of local fur products to the international market and improve the livelihood of fur farmers"
It appears they have succeeded, because the Humane Society filed a lawsuit in April 2008 "alleging at least 20 retailers in the U.S. have been mislabeling raccoon dog fur. They assert 70% of fur garments they tested were raccoon dog but were mislabeled as faux fur, coyote, rabbit, or other animals", for example "In December 2008, Lord & Taylor sold jackets labeled as 'polyester' fur at its retail store in Kensington, Md. Testing found that this purportedly faux fur garment was actually made from real raccoon dog and rabbit."
So far Saks and Lord & Taylor have settled
The video itself is not safe for work or your soul. It may be the worst thing I've ever seen, and it can't be unseen. With that warning: click here to watch
This post was deleted for the following reason: This is horrific, but "here's a graphic description of something horrific, also here's a terrible video you probably shouldn't watch" is kind of a hardcore firestarter of a post and I'm not sure it's really a great idea for the front page. -- cortex
No way I'm clicking that. This is not surprising, but it is a reminder of things I don't think about, and how much people can really suck.
posted by Glinn at 11:07 AM on October 4, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Glinn at 11:07 AM on October 4, 2011 [1 favorite]
China Small Animal Protection Association. There's plenty of people here working to make this history, Please support them.
posted by Abiezer at 11:09 AM on October 4, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by Abiezer at 11:09 AM on October 4, 2011 [3 favorites]
blargh...my husband bought me a really nice faux fur lined vest at costco, now I'm terrified it might be this...(its REALLY soft) blargh.....this is vomit inducing :(
posted by supermedusa at 11:11 AM on October 4, 2011
posted by supermedusa at 11:11 AM on October 4, 2011
Must...stifle.... urge to make a Saks joke in sad... tanuki thread...
posted by The 10th Regiment of Foot at 11:11 AM on October 4, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by The 10th Regiment of Foot at 11:11 AM on October 4, 2011 [1 favorite]
You couldn't pay me enough to watch that video.
posted by Forktine at 11:13 AM on October 4, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by Forktine at 11:13 AM on October 4, 2011 [2 favorites]
Testing found that this purportedly faux fur garment was actually made from real raccoon dog and rabbit.
I heard about this a while ago, and it's one of the reasons that faux-fur is carefully examined before being allowed into my house.
I don't even hate real fur all that much, both because it can be more ethically sourced and more importantly, I can simply not buy it, I just get extremely angry at the idea that if I'm trying to be responsible and kind to animals by purchasing synthetic fibers, that I'm being lied to in a way that causes animal suffering anyway.
Fuck these people.
posted by quin at 11:14 AM on October 4, 2011 [1 favorite]
I heard about this a while ago, and it's one of the reasons that faux-fur is carefully examined before being allowed into my house.
I don't even hate real fur all that much, both because it can be more ethically sourced and more importantly, I can simply not buy it, I just get extremely angry at the idea that if I'm trying to be responsible and kind to animals by purchasing synthetic fibers, that I'm being lied to in a way that causes animal suffering anyway.
Fuck these people.
posted by quin at 11:14 AM on October 4, 2011 [1 favorite]
That is one of the most disturbing things I have ever seen.
posted by nickrussell at 11:14 AM on October 4, 2011
posted by nickrussell at 11:14 AM on October 4, 2011
Ugh, could graphic descriptions of animal cruelty go in the more inside part please?
posted by Mavri at 11:14 AM on October 4, 2011
posted by Mavri at 11:14 AM on October 4, 2011
Don't google image "raccon-dog" either.
Christ, just when you think you're safe. I feel sad and sick, and don't see this thread lasting here at all.
posted by Stagger Lee at 11:15 AM on October 4, 2011
Christ, just when you think you're safe. I feel sad and sick, and don't see this thread lasting here at all.
posted by Stagger Lee at 11:15 AM on October 4, 2011
Wow, 5 seconds of that video and I now have absolutely no urge to crack jokes any longer. Kick some corporate assholes in the 'nads perhaps, but joke? Nope.
posted by The 10th Regiment of Foot at 11:16 AM on October 4, 2011
posted by The 10th Regiment of Foot at 11:16 AM on October 4, 2011
Here are a couple of raccoon dog images that are safe, for anyone who wants to see what they look like while alive and well.
posted by quin at 11:21 AM on October 4, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by quin at 11:21 AM on October 4, 2011 [2 favorites]
I'm glad to see that I wasn't the only one too frightened to click that link. I do appreciate the post, though, if only to spread the word about this disgusting practice and the lies being told.
posted by blurker at 11:26 AM on October 4, 2011
posted by blurker at 11:26 AM on October 4, 2011
I suppose it is a complete coincidence that this was posted immediately after Reading this post will destroy your soul.
posted by localroger at 11:26 AM on October 4, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by localroger at 11:26 AM on October 4, 2011 [1 favorite]
Nuh-uh. Saw the headline on Reddit and resisted it then, too.
posted by zombieflanders at 11:27 AM on October 4, 2011
posted by zombieflanders at 11:27 AM on October 4, 2011
a) i am always curious about people's anger about animals that doesn't seem to correspond ot their anger about people.
b) this is why you buy locally sourced fur, and know where yr fur comes from. The fur I have (rabbit and coyote trim mostly) comes from first nations in Alberta and Northern Ontario.
posted by PinkMoose at 11:28 AM on October 4, 2011
b) this is why you buy locally sourced fur, and know where yr fur comes from. The fur I have (rabbit and coyote trim mostly) comes from first nations in Alberta and Northern Ontario.
posted by PinkMoose at 11:28 AM on October 4, 2011
Links like this should be featured as required screenings somehow. I hesitate to say schools but what other option is there?
Boom, instant end of the industry/practice. It wouldn't last two months. Now if only I could deal with the nightmares and tears.
posted by RolandOfEld at 11:30 AM on October 4, 2011
Boom, instant end of the industry/practice. It wouldn't last two months. Now if only I could deal with the nightmares and tears.
posted by RolandOfEld at 11:30 AM on October 4, 2011
Pinkmoose, I actually know a First Nations shop owner who sources all of her stuff from China, and she has her non-First Nations friends make dream catchers and the like for her... Don't fall for the scam of thinking that because a Person of Color "allegedly" made it that it's authentic.
posted by PigAlien at 11:33 AM on October 4, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by PigAlien at 11:33 AM on October 4, 2011 [1 favorite]
Not killing them first doesn't make sense. Have they given any reason in their video?
Not defending anyone anywhere but I did come across a news article that talked about the story behind a video showing animal cruelty in Indonesia made by an Australian NGO where it turned out the documentary makers had paid the local guy to deliberately kick the animal in the head while they filmed it (which he wasn't doing otherwise) so that they could use the inflammatory video back in Australia to campaign against the export the animals to Indonesia. They succeeded, the guy in Indonesia was beaten up by others in the industry and his wife raped in retaliation for this export ban ruining the business and this aspect of the story was suppressed in Australia.
Do we know the story behind this?
posted by infini at 11:34 AM on October 4, 2011
Not defending anyone anywhere but I did come across a news article that talked about the story behind a video showing animal cruelty in Indonesia made by an Australian NGO where it turned out the documentary makers had paid the local guy to deliberately kick the animal in the head while they filmed it (which he wasn't doing otherwise) so that they could use the inflammatory video back in Australia to campaign against the export the animals to Indonesia. They succeeded, the guy in Indonesia was beaten up by others in the industry and his wife raped in retaliation for this export ban ruining the business and this aspect of the story was suppressed in Australia.
Do we know the story behind this?
posted by infini at 11:34 AM on October 4, 2011
Links like this should be featured as required screenings somehow. I hesitate to say schools but what other option is there?
How do you get from awareness to ending cruelty? It's the middle step that's missing. The anecdotes I've heard from pig slaughter houses weren't much better than this, but for most city-bound folks, what's the alternative? You can only boycott so many products, when damn near everything in the store rests on the back of exploitation of workers, animals, or whatever.
posted by Stagger Lee at 11:35 AM on October 4, 2011
a) i am always curious about people's anger about animals that doesn't seem to correspond ot their anger about people.
horrific crimes against defenseless people get quite a bit of anger. do you have a citation or example of it not?
b) this is why you buy locally sourced fur
this is why you don't buy fur and why i stopped buying faux fur a few years ago when i first heard of this.
posted by nadawi at 11:36 AM on October 4, 2011
horrific crimes against defenseless people get quite a bit of anger. do you have a citation or example of it not?
b) this is why you buy locally sourced fur
this is why you don't buy fur and why i stopped buying faux fur a few years ago when i first heard of this.
posted by nadawi at 11:36 AM on October 4, 2011
Pig Alien
I don't--this is like on the trap line, seen the rabbit be caught and skinned, shot the coyote my self sort of stuff.
posted by PinkMoose at 11:36 AM on October 4, 2011
I don't--this is like on the trap line, seen the rabbit be caught and skinned, shot the coyote my self sort of stuff.
posted by PinkMoose at 11:36 AM on October 4, 2011
Not killing them first doesn't make sense. Have they given any reason in their video?
Different cultures have different relationships with animals. That said, the life of a battery hen in North America ain't much better.
posted by KokuRyu at 11:38 AM on October 4, 2011
Different cultures have different relationships with animals. That said, the life of a battery hen in North America ain't much better.
posted by KokuRyu at 11:38 AM on October 4, 2011
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But... why in hell would anyone do this? Wouldn't it be easier and therefore cheaper to kill the beasts first?
posted by gurple at 11:05 AM on October 4, 2011