In new footage that is sure to disturb those with even the strongest disposition, animals – including dogs, cats and rabbits – are seen mercilessly tortured to death.

Undercover investigators found that many animals were still alive and struggling desperately when workers flipped them onto their backs or hang them up by their legs or tails to skin them.

The footage, available to watch below, shows that when workers begin to cut the skin and fur from an animal’s leg, the free limbs kick and writhe.

When the fur is finally peeled off over the animals’ heads, their naked, bloody bodies are thrown onto a pile of those who have gone before them.

Some are seen still alive, breathing in ragged gasps and blinking slowly. China – the world’s largest fur exporter – is put to shame in the haunting footage, which has left animal activists sickened.

There are no penalties for abusing animals on fur farms in China — farmers can house and slaughter animals however they see fit, animal rights organisation Peta have said.

Because fur farmers care only about preserving the quality of the fur, they use slaughter methods that keep the pelts intact but that can result in extreme suffering for the animals.

The horrified investigators on the farm said they found scenes beyond their worst imaginings and concluded: “Conditions on Chinese fur farms make a mockery of the most elementary animal welfare standards.

“In their lives and their unspeakable deaths, these animals have been denied even the simplest acts of kindness.”

Conditions on Chinese fur farms make a mockery of the most elementary animal welfare standards Undercover investigators

In the video, workers can be seen throwing cages crammed with dogs and cats – many of whom are still wearing the collars placed on them by their loving families – to the ground, shattering the animals’ bones.

The video also reveals that fur from China is mislabelled as fur from another species so that consumers cannot be confident that they know whose fur they are really wearing.

Designer brands bebe and Michael Kors continue to import fur from China, while others such as Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger and Stella McCartney have all decided to be 100 per cent fur-free.

Actress Olivia Munn introduces and narrates the hard-hitting the video, saying: “This new footage is one of the most heartbreaking things I’ve ever seen before.”

“Anyone who wears fur or is even thinking about wearing fur should watch PETA’s video. It shows exactly where – and who – that coat or that ‘little bit’ of trim came from,” said Munn, who is of Chinese descent. Munn, who appeared in PETA UK’s “Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur” campaign, is part of a long list of celebrities – including Charlize Theron, Eva Mendes, Natalie Imbruglia, Elisabetta Canalis, Mark Ronson and Joss Stone – who have teamed up with PETA UK to speak out against fur.

This article was first published by The Express on 1 March 2020.

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