Investigation: Inside China’s Dog And Cat Fur Industry

Animal Equality’s investigators, with the assistance of local activists, have infiltrated the Chinese dog and cat fur industries. Conditions in several regions across the country were documented over a number of weeks. Key findings include:

•  A dog farm in Jining, Shandong, where animals were photographed inside small kennels, bordered by sharp, rusty metal pens.
•  Dogs living on uneven and filthy concrete or wooden floors with little more than a handful of straw for bedding.
•  Animals with infections and injuries.

At the Dali Market in the Nanhai district in Foshan in the Guangdong province, dogs and cats were filmed being recklessly unloaded from trucks as they struggled inside the cages. No care is given if the animals suffer or obtain broken or fractured bones; only their meat and fur is what matters to the people in this industry. Most of these animals are stolen from families, where the dogs and cats are either sold to slaughterhouses or restaurants. In two facilities in Jiaxing in the Shandong province, we documented the killing and skinning of dogs who suffered a brutal and agonizing death. Dogs and cats are given blows to the head to render them unconscious, followed by their throats being slit. Many animals regain consciousness as they slowly bleed to death. Dog and cat fur is used to manufacture bags, toys, and clothes. At a market in Guangzhou in the Southern China province of Guangdong, Animal Equality investigators discovered merchants selling carpets made of dog and cat fur — some of them from as many as nine or more animals — and a shop in Beijing that sells children’s clothes made from cat fur. This is the fourth investigation Animal Equality, along with the help of Chinese activists, has carried out into the Chinese dog and cat fur and meat industries to help end this cruel trade. Animal Equality has achieved the closure of 33 dog and cat markets and one slaughterhouse. Vita, one of the dogs found trembling and pleading for help at a slaughterhouse, was also smuggled out by investigators. She is now in good health and soon after became a mom, giving birth to eight healthy puppies who play safely away from the horrors of the slaughterhouse. This work is part of the international campaign of Animal Equality’s “Voiceless friends,” which has already gathered over 500,000 signatures protesting this cruel trade. Sign the petition!