I SO agree with Pauline Burgess (Your Letters, December 12) that the 40 million animals killed each year for the fur trade is an important issue. One aspect of this trade which is not highlighted sufficiently is the growing trade in cat and dog fur within the European Union.
DNA tests have confirmed the sale of such items, in Denmark, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain and Austria. Secret video footage also shows sales in several locations in Belgium. Items range from hair-bows and pom-poms on sweaters to full-length German shepherd coats and golden retriever blankets along with linings in ski-boots and gloves.
Over two million cats and dogs are raised each year under cruel conditions in Asia and then slaughtered solely for their skins and furs. The USA has banned the trade completely, and MEPs from all political parties have called on the European Commission to impose an EU-wide ban too. A petition has been circulating in the European Parliament, and I was one of the first to sign.
Philip Bushill-Matthews MEP, European Parliament, Brussels.
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