Skinned alive in China

[Roco]

I watched a video ..well i should say i watched 2 seconds of a video from peta ( helps animals in distress) it was about dogs and cats being skinned alive in china..the horror of what i saw in a couple of seconds has caused me sleepless nights and very distressed..I cannot believe that such atrocities go on in this day and age and all because of women who wear fur...This has made me sick to the stomach to think that even puppies are being skinned alive from the pads of their feet to the whole of their body...Please don't wear fur..leave it where it belongs..on the animals...

[lankeela]

It is not only for making fur coats - a lot of the furry animal ornaments you see in gift shops are made from real fur.

Whilst this is a disgusting trade and should be outlawed, I find PETA to be a dubious organisation. Check out their methods and ideas before becoming involved. Any so called animal rights campaigners need to be beyond reproach.

[Roco]

lankeela..Yes you are so right about the small brooches etc..its disgusting and sickening to the stomach..regarding peta organisation i dont know too much about them..but what else can we do but trust them and hope they try to find some help for those defenceless animals...China is a country that is difficult to talk to as there is a lot of horrible things go on there...Heather Mcartney has done a lot to try and stop people wearing furs...i just hope by writing on here a lot of people will take notice..i feel so helpless in this situation..

[wolf63]

I have no real problem with eating meat or wearing fur and I realise that in some countries dog and cat are eaten.

What revolts me is the way the animals are kept prior to this and the way in which they are killed. There is no excuse for some of the things that happen to these poor animals.

[Roco]

Wolf63 That is your freedom of choice to wear fur..my choice is not to wear it..i cannot even bring myself to wear faux fur..after seeing a small part of that video and the cruelty and pain caused to defenceless animals has made me see life in a different perspective..I cannot sleep at night due to the visions in my head..i cannot help them the only way i can try and help is to try to get the message to others not to wear fur..if people stopped buying fur then the trade would no longer be in demand..What right have we to do this to animals because we are more superior than they are? imagine if aliens landed here on earth..they would be superior to us..would that make it right for them to treat us as we treat our less superior beings...think about it....

[missjef]

are you vegetarian aswell, and dont wear leather?

[catlavender]

I read an article on this in First magazine last week. It's absolutely horrific, like you I didn't know this went on, though I'm probably rather naive. It also said it is common for dog and cat fur to be labelled as fake fur so beware when buying what you think is fake fur - it might not be. Lankeela can you tell us more about PETA being a dubious organisation please? Why?

Roco it is disturbing and it upset me in much the same way it has you. All we can do as individuals is do our best to campaign for an end to all animal cruelty. Unfortunately it can take a long time for things like this to be outlawed but making people aware of it is a good start.

[arburgirl]

I'm just like you, I have had sleepless nights and been unable to eat sometimes from hearing or seeing such horrendous cruelty. I sit and stroke my cat on my lap and wonder how anyone can be so cruel to animals. Just because they are without speech doesn't mean they have no feelings or rights. The human race is very cruel in caging and killing other species. I often wonder when you look at any animal if they all telepathically know what's going on in the world, but know thier trapped.does any one have any charities they can reccommend ? I know of one myself that a friend is involved in at www.animalsasia.org they help to rescue bears in china from being drained of thier bile.

[Roco]

Missjef..the answer to the question you asked me is ..YES.. i am vegatarian and i dont wear leather or use any make up or toiletries tested on animals..I am 52yrs old and from the age of 15yrs have campaigned in a small way against all the cruelty to animals..I have raised money to help a lot of animal welafare groups in my time...I have seen some shocking things in my life against animals and i find it so very sad to think that things have got worse since 37yrs ago..and i never stopped being shocked...

[Roco]

arburgirl and catlavander..Thank you for your reply to these horrific attrocities..You both must be very nice people and very caring not only to the animals but to the human race to..It keeps me strong and gives me support as i hope it gives you both support to know that there are people like yourselves amongst us..Thank you..

[lankeela]

PETA are now trying to claim that feeding meat to children is child abuse.

Go to their website and read the FAQ on becoming an activist.

Also their condoning of Animal Liberation Front terrorist activities.

I have nothing against people who campaign against animal cruelty, but it has to be done in a way that does not alienate them from normal society.

[catlavender]

Thanks for that lankeela. I will have a look at their site. I am all for campaigning for animal rights but certainly not through violent means.

Roco thanks for your response. Like you say it's good to know there are others out there.

[twinkle2]

Hi Roco
Heather Mills Mccartney did a documentary on this a couple of months ago. I, like you, felt so sick and really destressed by what was happening, sleepless nights etc. I didnt watch the video as I couldnt but I could hear the noise the alsation was making and I just cried and cried. The day after I really wanted to know what I could do instead of just sitting there feeling so awful for the poor animals. I went onto http://www.heathermillsmccartney.com/. It tells you there what you can do and there is a petition to sign and send onto all you know. BEWARE, before you go into the website the pictures are VERY destressing but its gives you some ideas on how you can help. Id just like to say that I would like to see those people having exactly the same thing done to them - see how they like it! EVIL T0ssers
x

[Carakeel]

Roco, just like most of us I am totally disgusted with the way in which animals are abused in China. The more I read about that country the more I feel we should have nothing to do with the Chinese to be honest! I do not wear fur and never will! I watched a small part of a film made about the dogs and cats in China and the bears as well and like you, it made me sick to my stomach and I had to turn it off! Roco, I hope you feel better soon. :o)

Lankeela, thanks for the info on PETA, I too will have a look at their site and if this is what they are up to they will most definitely go on my black list!

[Roco]

Thank you twinkle2 for the site on Heather Mcartney..I have been on there and have given the support that i could give...Thank you for the warning of the pictures on the site it really is too distressing to see..and as you say if we could help them it would be a different matter..but we are so helpless..I know that some of the animal activists are extremists and i dont like to see innocent people hurt by them..but i must say regarding the China issue that is when we need them to be extreme...most of the chinese have no regard for animals and the cruelty and torture they do these poor defenceless animals is totally inhuman..
Thank you twinkle2..i hope time will remove those painful sounds from your mind....

[Roco]

Carakeel..Thank you for your kind words...It surely is a very cruel world we live in..but it makes me thankful that there are people like you and others on this site that care..it gives moral support to us all..but leaves us helpless in a fight we couldn't even attempt to start...I truely believe what goes around comes around....i just hope i am around to see that day come to them in China...

[CrazyWolfman]

I've seen plenty (too many) of videos of animals being mistreated in the name of fasion. If you haven't seen enough already here's another, this time with blue arctic foxes.
http://www.peta2.com/takecharge/swf/fur_Farm.s wf
As a zookeeper I work with these animals and they are highly intelligent (they've outwitted me on several occasion in their eternal quest to steal the dustpan and brush) so it seems very sad to think that they are killed in such a way.
On the other hand though I don't particularly like PETA as they seem almost fanatical to me and appear to have forgotten what they were initially out to do. (Ruining human's lives in order to make the lives of other animals better, even supporting murder in order to achieve their ends. Surely humans are animals too? Work that one out!)

Also I don't dissagree with wearing fur, but there are a number of things which I believe must be adhered to first. I mean, I admire the Native Americans somewhat when it comes to this kind of thing. They take what they need and use everything. Two principles which strike me as being very applicable to the fur industry. If I found a wolf (a subject very close to my heart) which had died I wouldn't be fussed at all about skinning it and using the pelt (if you think about it the fur would decompose naturally and taking this one would, in terms of demand reduce the number of wolves which were to die unnaturally by one). However I can't stand how, for a start the animals are skinned alive! That's just beyond stupidity and well beyond cruelty! I have to say those videos really make me angry and, if given the opportunity I would probably have done everything I could to tear the perpetrators to pieces if I was actually there (despite my attitude towards PETA...hmm, perhaps I'm a bit of a hypocrit?)

[CrazyWolfman]

One idea I've had for a while is that perhaps you could artificially produce biologically identical fur which didn't come from a live animal. Do you lot think that's possible? It's been done with human skin for transplants...kind of like growing it all on a mesh (I'm not sure if the hairs would be possible though.)

Actually, don't answer that here, I'll bung it up as a separate question.

[CrazyWolfman]

By the way Roco, you said you're a vegetarian and all that, but surely you ought to be a vegan by the same argument. For example, if you went out and bought an ice cream containing milk, then you are also supporting the killing of animals. Male cows do not produce milk, female cows only produce milk for a small portion of their lives, also they must give birth to another cow in order to lactate. Thus, if no animals were killed there would be so many male or elderly cows around that the industry would go bankrupt (as these animals do not provide any income from milk or meat but require feeding, housing and so on). So for every pint of milk there must be many other cows that die. Additionally the same applies to almost every other animal product. Male chickens don't lay eggs, etc. Wool is about all that would be left as a financial possibility. Surely efforts would be better put towards making the existing system more ethical in it's treatment of animals (a clean death, them not being skinned whilst alive, decent sized enclosure, inculsion of enrichment, proper vetenary care etc. etc. etc.), without necessarily just banning the system?

I'm not saying what's right and wrong, I'm simply putting forward a suggestion (I'm not even vegetarian myself, let alone a vegan!). And please don't get me wrong, I do respect your opinion, there aren't enough people in the world who, like you, are so compassionate about what they believe in. It's definitely to your credit regardless of whether or not I agree entirely with what you say.

Sorry if I've written loads, and sorry for going a bit off topic there, I'll shut up now...

[Roco]

Crazy wolfman...Thank you for your comments..I understand what you are saying..to be commited totally to the welfare of animals is a very hard thing to do..life is not made easy and we all have lives to lead which makes being a vegan a very hard thing to be..and i admire a true vegan.....All i can say at this moment i am very very depressed about the torture and pain the dogs ..cats puppies kittens and a host of other animals are suffering ..being SKINNED ALIVE is disgusting..not even to kill the animal first is barbaric...I am suffering every day and nite with the pain they are going through and i can't get the pictures i saw out of my head...and the fact i cant do anything to help them is killing me...i dream at nite that i free them..this may sound silly...but at the moment i am so down ....

[jedimistress]

Hi Roco,
Am with you all the way. Barbaric. Thank PETA and all the other animal welfare charities and people for all their endless efforts and campaigning to bring these things to our attention.

It's a pity people associate Animal Welfare with violence or extremism.
PETA have indeed released information gathered by the ALF, a non violent direct action group. I don't know how anyone can say Britches was not one to benefit from their direct action.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britches_%28monke y%29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_Liberation _Front

I personally don't see any problem with direct action. I'm sure anyone walking down the street seeing this would be hard pressed not to do something.