Cat and Dog Fur
Over the last few years, there has been growing public concern about
the alleged import of domestic cat and dog fur into the
UK, most likely as trimmings on gift ware products or cheap
clothing. The Government understands the ethical abhorrence
felt about this issue and has been working for some time
to try to establish the facts about this trade.
In
July 2003, the DTI Minister for Trade and Investment issued
an initial written statement to Parliament on this
issue. In his statement, the Minister asked animal welfare
groups to come forward with hard evidence of the extent
of this problem in the UK within six months. He said that
if such evidence was produced, he would, in principle, be
prepared to support a ban on the import of domestic cat
and dog furs. The Government also undertook to commission
work to establish the reliability of a scientific technique
called "mass spectrometry" as a possible means
of accurately distinguishing between the different species
of cat and dog.
In
January 2004, the Minister for Trade and Investment reported back to Parliament on progress made during
the six month period. During this time, the Government received
only one piece of alleged evidence and was advised that
mass spectrometry was not yet sufficiently reliable to accurately
identify the furs of domestic cats and dogs. Given that
the Government’s better regulation agenda requires practical
and proportionate evidence-based action, and that it is
still not possible to prove or disprove whether these furs
are entering the UK, the Government has decided that it
cannot support an import ban on these furs at this point
in time.
In January 2005, the Minister for Trade and Investment updated
Parliament on tests of the mass spectrometry method.
Additions to the data base of fur samples and improvements
in the search algorithms meant that the method was able
to accurately identify furs of domestic cats and dogs, although
a question mark remained over identifying fur that had been
treated by chemicals. The Government undertook to share
these scientific findings with European partners. No evidence
of domestic cat and dog fur on sale in the UK had been provided
to the government in the year since the last statement to
Parliament so the Government’s position remained the same.
In its investigations of this matter, the Government has developed
a constructive relationship with interested animal welfare
groups and trade associations. We intend to continue to
work closely with them. We are also liaising closely with
officials in other countries where the possible trade in
domestic cat and dog fur is also cause for concern. We have
discussed this issue with the European Commission as, given
the Single Market, we believe that any action on this issue
would be most effective if taken at EU level. We will continue
to push for greater EU involvement on this issue.
Our priority continues to be to establish the facts about this issue
and to ensure that there exists a valid scientific test
that can accurately identify the furs of domestic species
of the cat and dog families.
Contact:
Emma Squire
Tel: 020 7215 6017
Fax: 020 7215 2235
Email: emma.squire@dti.gsi.gov.uk
|
