IDA Descends on Chinese Consulate to Protest Dog and Cat Fur Trade

Activists Join Groups in 26 Cities Worldwide for International Day of Protest

Members of In Defense of Animals (IDA) will join activists in 26 cities worldwide in a day of protest of the fur trade in China. Activists will gather in front of the Consulate General of China to expose passersby to the brutal trade in dog and cat fur taking place in China. The protest is concurrent with demonstrations organized at Chinese Embassies and Consulates around the globe.

What: Chicago protest against the Chinese fur industry
When: Tuesday, February 13th starting at 1:00 p.m.
Where: Chinese Consulate General, 100 West Erie Street, Chicago
Contact: Melissa Gonzalez (415) 305-8633 Giselle DeMaria (773) 341-6708

What: Los Angeles protest against the Chinese fur industry
When: Tuesday, February 13th starting at 11:00 a.m.
Where: Consulate General of the Peoples Republic of China, 443 Shatto Place, Los Angeles
Contact: Bill Dyer (310) 301-7730

What: San Francisco protest against the Chinese fur industry
When: Tuesday, February 13th, starting at 11:30 a.m.
Where: Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in San Francisco, 1450 Laguna Street (at the corner of Geary & Laguna), San Francisco
Contact: Melissa Gonzalez (415) 305-8633

Investigations of the Chinese fur industry revealed dogs and cats packed into wire cages, stacked by the thousands onto trucks, and transported to be killed for their pelts. Investigators documented employees on fur farms throwing cages from the tops of trucks to the ground - then killing the animals by hanging, strangulation or electrocution. Investigators also witnessed dogs, cats and other animals being skinned alive and then thrown onto a pile of other processed animals. Some of them continued to live – their eyes blinking and their hearts visibly beating inside their exposed ribs – for up to ten minutes.

A prior investigation of fur farms in China showed workers attempting to stun foxes and raccoon dogs by slamming them against the ground or bashing their heads with clubs. Such unreliable methods also left many animals fully conscious after the fur was ripped from their bodies.

More than half of the fur products imported into the U.S. are from China, a country where there are no animal welfare regulations. “Flaunting the skin from a tortured animal’s back is a blatant disrespect for life,” says IDA Campaign Coordinator Melissa Gonzalez. “People must take personal responsibility by refusing to buy fur and fur trim, thus ending the demand for cheap fur goods.”

Celebrated designers, such as Stella McCartney and Todd Oldham, refuse to design with fur. Several prominent retail chains including J. Crew, Victoria’s Secret, and Forever 21 have pledged not to sell real fur. The protests aim to enlist more consumers, designers and manufacturers to join the bandwagon and make clothing made from animal fur a thing of the past.

Broadcast quality video will be available on site. For more information on IDA’s anti-fur campaign, please visit: www.FurKills.org.