LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwired - Oct 13, 2014) - Last Chance for Animals (LCA) has revealed the results of a three-week investigation into two separate fur farms in Shandong, China, where undercover operatives filmed neglect and torture of raccoon dogs and foxes. The findings of the investigation are viewable at endfashioncruelty.org. The organization is speaking out against designers Fendi, Alice and Olivia, and Adrienne Landau, all of who sell raccoon dog fur from China.
Investigators found the following:
- The raccoon dogs were confined to cages barely larger than their own bodies, and stood in piles of their own feces.
- Nearly every raccoon dog exhibited signs of mental or physical illness.
- Raccoon dogs who died in captivity were fed to the others.
- To gather fur, farm workers electrocuted the raccoon dogs with metal bars attached to a car battery. One bar was inserted into the mouth the other into the anus. The shock did not kill the animals, but left them paralyzed as workers skinned them alive.
Photos of the investigation are viewable at: https://secure.flickr.com/photos/126508052@N08/sets/72157647613504940
Video of the investigation is viewable at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Avh16b4TBuQ
Although raccoon dogs are canids -- just like domestic dogs -- U.S. law requires retailers to label them as "Asiatic raccoon" (not a scientific name), so consumers are generally unaware that they're buying canid fur.
"These furs are shipped to countries across the globe," said Sharon Nunez, executive director of LCA. "They line coats at stores throughout the U.S. -- and people don't even know these clothes are made from raccoon dogs, which are closely related to the domestic dogs they may have at home."
LCA, who performed this investigation together with animal rights group Animal Equality, is presenting this investigation as part of their EndFashionCruelty campaign, which also highlights a two-year investigation into rabbit farms in Spain. The campaign includes a petition urging multiple designers to stop selling fur.
Last Chance for Animals is an international animal advocacy organization that conducts undercover investigations and launches public awareness campaigns to expose animal cruelty. LCA's Special Investigations Unit travels the world to document abuse in research labs, puppy mills, factory farms and the entertainment industry. For more information, visit www.LCAnimal.org.
