PETA Exposes Shocking, Never-Before-Seen Footage Of Angora Fur Industry
For Immediate Release:
20 November 2013
Contact:
Ben Williamson +44 (0) 207 837 6327, ext 229; [email protected]
London – As shoppers and retailers gear up for Cyber Sunday and the busiest shopping time of the year, PETA is unveiling an unprecedented behind-the-scenes look into the angora fur industry. The video, released today and shot by a PETA Asia investigator in China – the source of 90 per cent of the world’s angora fur – reveals workers violently ripping the fur out of rabbits’ skin as the animals scream in pain. After their fur is yanked out, the gentle, sensitive rabbits are left in shock, able only to lie motionless inside their tiny, filthy cages. After they endure this process every three months for two to five years, their throats are slit and their skin is ripped from their bodies.
PETA UK, like its international affiliates, is asking its members and supporters to circulate the footage via social media so that holiday shoppers can see what an “angora” label really means. The only way to ensure that a garment is truly cruelty-free is to shop animal-free.
“PETA UK is appealing to shoppers this holiday season”, says PETA UK Associate Director Mimi Bekhechi. “Please take the time to read the label on that sweater or scarf. If it says ‘angora,’ remember the gentle rabbits whose fur was cruelly ripped out of their skin – and leave the item on the rack.”
Rabbits who have their fur cut or sheared also suffer: during the cutting process, their front and back legs are tightly tethered – a terrifying experience for any prey animal – and the sharp cutting tools inevitably wound them as they struggle desperately to escape. They spend their solitary lives in barren wire cages that harm their sensitive feet. They are denied solid flooring, bedding and the vital companionship of other rabbits.
In China, there are no penalties for animal abuse on rabbit farms and no standards that regulate the treatment of animals.
Broadcast-quality video footage is available here. Photos from the investigation are available on request.
For more information, please visit PETA.org.uk.
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