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eBay Stops Dog Fur Sales

Saturday, March 04, 2006

Dog Meat IndustryThe Daily Mirror, a UK based newspaper, reports that eBay removed a Korean dog fur coat from its site yesterday. The newspaper credits itself for the decision.

A concerned animal lover saw the coat on eBay, and was alarmed by its description:
Described as being "in great condition", it had an asking price of £50 and appeared alongside a photo with the heading: "Fur coat - Korean dog".
The Daily Mirror was contacted, and the paper contacted eBay about it. The sale of dog fur is permissible in the UK.

A spokeswoman for PETA claimed that, "People who choose to wear fur of any kind should be aware that they are directly responsible for a great deal of unnecessary animal suffering."

However, the Daily Mirror says otherwise. The paper notes that the fur is likely to have been a by-product of the Korean meat trade. About two million dogs are killed every year for dog meat in Korean and sold to 6,000 restaurants.

This is exactly what I commented in an earlier article about the Chinese dog fur industry, that it's actually a by-product of the dog meat industry. You can't stop the dog fur industry without first stopping the dog meat industry. And you cannot stop the dog meat industry without first addressing cultural norms, and poverty.

The consumption of dog meat came about due to harsh realities of the lower class society. So much of Chinese and Korean families have been in the lower class, that eating dog meat has since become engrained into the culture. Even if we could ship them all free beef, they'd still eat dog because of it being part of their culture.

PETA, on the other hand, would prefer you to believe that these families are all psychotically deranged, and is using that picture to keep donations flowing their way. They'll get the donations, but they'll never change Asian culture.

10 Comments:

  • Although I understand the cultural norms, acusing PETA of using the information to collect funds is something I do not appreciate. PETA is doing a great job of discouraging animal cruelty through education. Blaming it on the culture is absurd... Culture is something that must change with the changing times otherwise it vanishes. We have seen it happen in the past and we will see it in the future.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 7:23 PM, March 04, 2006  

  • "Blaming it on the culture is absurd... Culture is something that must change with the changing times otherwise it vanishes."

    It's definitely IS culture. Here in the USA, eating a cheeseburger, french fries, and a chocolate shake, is probably the worst thing we can consume, yet we continue to do it time after time. We know it's bad for us, but we eat it anyways. That's culture, and you can't change it.

    Even if we could ship free beef to everyone in China, they'll still eat dog. Just like if you gave every American free salad, they'll still buy cheeseburgers.

    It's all about culture.

    By Blogger Steve, at 8:06 PM, March 04, 2006  

  • Actually, when culture changes, riots and civil disobedience arises and continues for hundreds of years. Take Ireland for example. When the British moved in and began to control everything in the 1100s, the Irish resented them. Riots would break out because of the discrimination since most Irish were Catholic and much of England was Protestant. The British almost banned Catholicism, made English the official language, and controlled an entire culture of people. Of course, many Irish would not give in and to this day, they still practice their unique culture. This entire fight still has not ended to this day in 2006. That's about 900 years worth of fighting about culture.

    Also, PETA is a giant hypocrite. Ingrid Newkirk, the president, is terrified of "pit bulls" and wanted to ban all breeds of dogs associated with them. After that, PETA planned to move onto the rest of the species and wipe the dog out of existence. Just because they depend on humans. Think about it. They support the killing of thousands of animals for no other reason than because it looks like a certain breed of dog. No tests go on and nothing is done with this animal other than it is destroyed. And here they go "OMG! DOG FUR!" when this animal is actually being used for something.

    The consumption of dog meat is what actually created a breed of dog, the Jindo. It is a dog native to Korea and survives because the people ate the animals that weren't "up to par," kind of like all animal populations.

    By Anonymous RJ, at 7:02 PM, March 07, 2006  

  • I dont' think PETA is so much concerned with the particular animal that is being eaten so much as the horrible cruetly inflicted on the animals before thier death and how in humanely they are killed and dressed. Find out some facts about this and you will understand why PETA is saying something..and many other groups as well.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12:14 PM, March 10, 2006  

  • PETA also goes on about how cruelly livestock are processed in the U.S. when in reality, very animals actually suffer. They're treated a lot better than the ones around the world and PETA's still complaining. The people who do the website have never been to these places, how would they know what is going on there? They rely on people who could twist the footage and edit it to show a different perspective than what is actually being done. They do this with their "Why you shouldn't eat meat" video with the whole 'throwing a brick on a pig's head.' That's not how a slaughterhouse kills an animal, you morons. It's a bolt to the head that kills the brain. The animal is then bled to death before anythign happens. These facilities are expensive so slaughterhouses in China do not have them.

    Also, PETA isn't expressing the real issue. Some people in China do not have any rights at all. Why would government officials start thinking of dogs when their own people are put down? If you're going to do anything, at least try for human rights first.

    Why do I bash PETA? They scare kids. Seriously, who makes a comic book that goes 'Oh, watch out, your mommy is a chicken killer!' and 'Daddy kills fish just because he can' with the most awful images. Why would you scare and alienate a child from their parents? I was terrified looking at the cover and I'm older. I'm sorry but any organization that terrifies children into being afraid for their lives in their own home does not need to be backed by the public. Yes, they had good ideas to start with. But it's gone all downhill now.

    By Anonymous RJ, at 2:47 PM, March 11, 2006  

  • Saying animals that are being slaughted are being treated fairly is a contradiction.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 5:27 PM, March 13, 2006  

  • I never said they were treated fairly. I said they are treated better in slaughterhouses here than other countries would dream about. All in all, they are treated as humanely as possible in this day and age. Now, people are going to disagree here but someone please tell me how else to humanely kill an animal without the use of chemicals? Sometimes the bolt misses but the animals are dead before the first step. Nowhere in the U.S. is the animal alive when the people skin them. If they are, the plant would be exposed and closed down, like the horse plant in Dallas. It wasn't up to code and filthy so the government is closing it down until it comes back up to code.

    However, the real issue here is, once again, human rights. I really assume no one here wears fur (I don't even wear faux, I don't like the way it feels, real or not) but that's only a start. Sure, you could boycott fur from China but that really doesn't do anything. Push for human rights and then for animal rights. You'll be doing the country a lot more by asking for human rights for all than for just animal rights. It will probably be several decades before animal's receive rights anyways, even with protesting. Even then, the consumption of dog meat and the wearing of dog fur will not end. But at least the animals could be put down more humanely than they are now.

    By Anonymous RJ, at 5:52 PM, March 14, 2006  

  • Dog fur is still being sold on eBay under the name of "Gae-Wolf". Even in the US where it's illegal!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1:29 AM, November 11, 2006  

  • The issue about sale of dog fur in the US and Canada relates to the manner in which they are treated and to whether or not they suffer. Skinning animals alive is the practice in China among many farmers who believe the skins are better if taken from the animal when it's alive. The same barbarism is practiced on turtles in Bali. If there are no enforced laws against cruelty to animals we should not be importing any animal products from those countries.

    By Blogger Lesley, at 1:09 PM, February 13, 2007  

  • Humans are carniverous animals. I don't think it is any worse killing dogs for food than it is killing cows or turkies for food. The fact is that they are all living animals. I think it's horrible that it works that way, but I can't call it evil because I love meat. It's Natural selection. We're the top predators right now so it's good that we have enough sence to use as much of the animal as possible. Using fur and meat is fine, as long as they are using the meat as well as the fur I see nothing wrong in making dog fur coats. I personally don't care what my jacket is made out of as long as it's warm and doesn't look rediculous but I'm not gonna knock another culture. Most of us in America don't realize the importance of ancient culture because we have none for we have grown up in a place that has become the biggest mut of a country in the world speaking the language with so many borrowings there's only traces of the original left and we continue to change it day by day. If something's really old, you should respect it, you should respect somebody elses beliefs. sending beef over there... that's rediculous, they have cows. That's like a bunch of Christians sending crucifixes and bibles to a Jewish Church. Cultural change is not something that happens with time, it's when superpower nations like the United States get big headed and start messing with everybody else's buisiness. It's happened all through history. Normandy overtakes England, we get a bunch of French Roots and tons of other stuff. England takes over everything around it, almost destroying all celtic languages, changing the names of Irish Nobles, Sending them running for the hills, or spain, or france. England takes over the world, and starts letting everybody know what's "proper." America gets freedom, British dissmisses itsself, America get's most powerful, and now look at what we've done to Hawaii and Alaska, Mexico and the world. The land of the free is now the land of the prejuduced. Those who see flaws in other people's cultures are those who ignore their own due to fear of diversity. I'm sorry, I love dogs, but leave the hungry people alone, they don't need your critisizm.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 5:44 PM, February 15, 2007  

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