Ban Fur Farms in China

by: Christine Doulis

recipient: Han Changfu, Minister of Agriculture of the People's Republic of China

More than half of the fur used in the fashion industry is imported from China's fur farms, because it is cheap. More than half of the finished fur garments imported for sale in the United States alone are imported from China. Even if a fur garment's label says it was made in a European country, the fur pelts' original owners were most likely raised and slaughtered elsewhere - possibly on an unregulated Chinese fur farm.



In China there are no regulations governing how animals are treated on fur farms or how their pelts are procured. Undercover investigators recently toured fur farms in China and found the horrible, barbaric conditions animals are subject to at these farms. Because there are no regulations, farmers house and slaughter animals any way they see fit. Frequently these animals live miserable lives and face excruciatingly painful deaths. Workers at these fur farms routinely skin animals while they are still alive and conscious. Most animals are struggling desperately to escape when they are flipped onto their backs or hung by their legs or tails and skinned alive. When workers on these farms begin to cut the skin and fur from an animal's leg, its free limbs kick and writhe in an attempt to escape from the pain. If an animal struggles too hard for its life, workers stomp on their necks and heads to make them stop and allow a clean cut. When the fur is finally peeled off over the animals' heads, their naked, bloody bodies are thrown onto a pile of others who have gone before them to the same gory fate. Some are still alive, breathing in ragged gasps and blinking slowly. Some of the animals' hearts are still beating 5-10 minutes after they are skinned.



Please sign this petition and let the Chinese government know that the treatment of animals in fur farms is unacceptable and that you want them to ban fur farms in their country.

read petition letter ▾ Dear Honorable Minister Han Changfu, I, the undersigned, am deeply outraged and opposed to the unacceptable treatment millions of animals are subjected to in China's unregulated fur farms. Undercover investigators filmed the horrific and gruesome deaths of many animals on these farms. Video captured in one of China's fur farms shows animals being skinned while still alive and conscious. Animals were struggling desperately to escape when farm workers flipped them onto their backs or hung them up by their legs or tails to skin them. Farm workers cut into the skin and fur of these still alive and conscious animals' legs, wrists, etc. The animals' free limbs are clearly shown kicking and writhing in pain as they are skinned alive. If an animal struggled too hard, workers stomped on its neck and head, leaving it unmoving but still fully aware and conscious as it was skinned alive! When their fur is finally peeled off over their heads, their skinned and bloody bodies are thrown onto a pile of others who shared their gory fate. Some are still alive, breathing in ragged gasps and blinking slowly -- their hearts still beating 5 to 10 minutes after they have been skinned alive. This barbarity must end and as the Minister of Agriculture in the People's Republic of China, you can make this happen. Continuing to ignore the cruelty and disregard for life inherent in the fur industry is simply unacceptable and must be stopped. Raising and killing animals for their fur is not an acceptable practice in a civilized society. I urge The People's Republic of China to follow the lead of other advanced nations and prohibit fur farming in its country. Please put a stop to this cruel and gruesome practice and ban all fur farming in China. [your comment here] It has been said that one can tell much about a society by the way it treats its animals. Please act immediately Minister Qinglin and end the reprehensible practice of fur farming and outlaw its practice in China. Again, I urge you to restore China's reputation as a humane and honorable society by banning all fur farming there. Sincerely, [your name]