European Parliament to vote on proposal to ban dog and cat fur trading (VIDEO)

A rather unusual piece of legislation dealing with a cruel reality comes to the attention of the European Parliament on Tuesday. MEPs are expected to vote on a complete ban on EU imports and exports of cat and dog fur as requested by the European Commission as early as last year.

The move comes as a series of campaigns led by animal rights activists and superstars including Paul McCartney and Trent Reznor have been pushing for such a ban, which was partly or fully applied in some EU member states already.

It is estimated that some two million cats and dogs are killed in China alone each year to fuel the trade internationally.

The EC has stepped up efforts to ban the trade last year after 15 member states had already introduced measures against the phenomenon.

A short film on what dog and cat fur trading means:

According to animal protection organizations quoted by the BBC, it takes the fur of 12-15 adult dogs or 24 cats to make a fur coat. And resulting products are often presented as made of something “inexistent” such as Mongolian dogs or Asian jackals.

According to EC data, there is no proof that cats and dogs are bred in EU countries for their furs.